All's Fair in High School
by kaybennett85
Summary: A fun fic all based on Sweet Valley High!! Good for Kaguel, ET and Chadney fans!
1.

All's Fair in High School

All's Fair in High School

Hi! This is my new fanfic. It's going to mainly be about Kay, Charity, Miguel, Reese, Jessica, Simone, Whitney, Chad, Ethan, and Theresa.

Sorry, long list of characters!! This is going to be extremely Sweet-Valley-High-ish, because that's where I'm getting most my ideas and storylines from. FEEDBACK IS CHERISHED AND KEEPS ME WRITING!!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. I'm using all storylines straight from Sweet Valley High Senior Year Series (good books, by the way). Blah, blah, blah…

Here's (another) list of characters and some info on them for you to better understand my fanfic!

By the way, everyone on this list is a senior at Harmony High unless otherwise stated!!

Theresa- is the coolest girl at school. Everyone loves her, and she's totally optimistic and cheery, not to mention drop-dead-gorgous! Everything has been going great for her, but what's going to happen once Ethan has to leave for college?

Ethan- is totally in love with Theresa. Nothing could ever take her away from him. Except for the fact that he has to leave for college soon. He already deferred Havard for one semester, but how long will he be able to postpone his own life for Theresa?

Chad- is Mr. Cool. He's into music, especially writing his own. He's NOT into chicks who dig commitment. Relationships. No way. Not for him. Unfortunantly, that's the kind of girl Whitney is.

Whitney- is smart, funny, beautiful and talented. She's sick of taking the safe road. That's why she's decided to have a great year. Party. Get a new boyfriend. Be a bad girl.

Simone- is Kay's best friend. She's popular by association. What will happen when Kay and Simone's friendship takes a test? 

Jessica- is a sophmore. She's had a crush on Reese forever. Will she finally work up the nerve to tell him?

Reese- is the current star quarterback at Harmony High.

Miguel- is a junior, but was already the star quarterback on the football team at Castleton. He just transferred to Harmony High from Castleton High. He's been with his long time girlfriend, Charity, for almost 3 years. He's hansome, cocky and cool- and thinks nothing will ever get him down.

Charity- was queen of Castleton High. She's not afraid of some competition- not that she even considers Kay Bennet competition. She knows she will be head cheerleader, and Miguel will be captian of the football team. She wilol do whatever it takes to rule Harmony High. Anything. She will always be ½ of the most popular couple at Harmony High. No one will ever change that. Not Kay. Not even Miguel.

Kay- has ruled Harmony High since freshman year. She was captain of the cheerleading squad last year, and will no doubt be again this year. But Kay plays by the rules- and doesn't watch her back. Sometimes even your best friends aren't even your friends at all. She's always believed in the good in every person- bad idea.

All's Fair In High School- Chapter 1

Whitney carefully spun the combination to her locker as the 5 minute bell rung.

She grabbed her creative writing folder as she scanned the hallway for a friendly face.

Creative Writing. She had waited 4 years to take this elective. As editor of the school paper, she had figured that the teacher, Mr. Johnson, would cut her a break and let her take the class as a junior or sophmore. No such luck.

She couldn't find a familiar face anywhere. All she saw were strangers, probably transferred from Castleton High, which had been destroyed during a hurricane over the summer.

With a sigh, she entered the classroom. She took a seat behind a petite, pretty girl with long dark brown hair and smiled at her.

" Hi, I'm Theresa.", the girl introduced herself.

" Whitney, nice to meet you.", Whit replied.

Before they could say anything else, Mr. Johnson started talking. He told them about the class, and told them they would have to read virtually everything they wrote out loud to the class.

After having them watch a video about Shakephere's writing style, he started to ask them questions.

" Tell me, Ms. Russell, why do you take this elective?", Mr. Johnson asked, calling on Whitney.

Whitney took a deep breath. " Well, I've always wanted to be a writer. And I've written all my life. But I believe that writing, like anything else life, requires direction."

" Bull.", a voice called out from the back.

"Mr. Harris, do you have something to say?", Mr. Johnson asked, checking his seating chart.

" Writers are born, not made. If you can't write now, 100 years of practice won't help you.", he replied, smirking, " HER idea of an essay is probably about how her first zit was a national tragedy."

Whitney started at the stranger. He was obviously new, she didn't know him. What right did he have coming to HER school and attacking her? He didn't even know her!

As she was about to retort with a smart alleck remark, the bell rang.

" Saved by the bell.", she muttered.

Kay looked around in her AP History Class. What girl couldn't see the advantages of combining schools with Castleton? A whole new batch of extremely cute guys…

Ooh that one's cute. Cuter. Seriously good-looking. Downright hot. And there he was. Mr. Drop Dead Gorgous.

He was maybe 5'10 or 5'11. His lean but muscular build was proof of an athlete. He had dark brown hair and the most beautiful chocoloate brown eyes that she could melt just looking at.

She caught his eye and smiled as she tossed her hair behind her shoulders.

And he ignored her, taking a seat.

' I'll give him 10 minutes to glance back here.', she thought.

10 minutes later…

' Maybe 10 more minutes.' She thought generously, as her ego was starting to bruise.'

As the class passed, he refused to give her a second glance.

" Maybe I don't look quite as good in pink as I thought I did.", she muttered, catching a puzzled look from the girl sitting next to her.

When the bell rang, she glanced over at Mr. Gorgous just as she saw him glance at her, then quickly look away.

'Gotcha!' Kay thought triumphantly.

Charity stared at the pictures in her locker. She only kept three of them there. The three most important photos she owned. One of her parents wedding, one of her and Miguel at junior prom, and one of with the cheerleading squad.

" God, Char, this sucks.", Miguel said standing next to her.

" More football stuff, huh?", she asked sympathetically.

" Yeah, Coach Russell says that Reese it first string, and that's that. Nothing I can do about it.", Miguel said, obviously frustrated.

" Relax. It'll be okay. In no time, will Coach Russell realize that you're way better than that Reese kid.", Charity said soothingly.

" You don't get it Char. This was supposed to be our year. And now some loser punks are taking our high school dreams. You think you'll be captain of the cheerleading squad, Char? Don't be so sure. I've been hearing that some Kay Bennett chick already owns the title.", Miguel said angrily.

" That's what makes it all the better when we take it away from them." Charity replied grimly.

What to look for in Chapter 2

    * Cheerleading Tryouts start
    * Miguel and Kay meet
    * Whit and Chad have another encounter
    * An Intro to Theresa and Ethan


	2. 

All's Fair In High School

All's Fair In High School

Chapter 2

Hey! Here's some little details to help make this fic more understandable.

* Theresa and Chad are best friends.

* Theresa and Ethan have been together for nearly 3 years

* Ethan deferred the first semester of college because he didn't want to 

leave Theresa. 

* Charity and Kay do not that they are cousins yet.

* Thus, they do not live together.

* Miguel and Kay just met.

* Kay and Jess are sisters.

* Kay and Reese used to date, but not anymore since Jessica likes him.

* Charity has a normal family. She's an only child, and lives with both a mom 

and dad. Well her mom is kind of pushy and acts 

like she's more concerned about Charity's social life than she is about

Charity.

* Miguel and Charity have been the longtime couple for almost 4 years.

* Ethan is still a Crane.

* All the hocus pocus mumbo jumbo is omitted from my story.

* THIS WILL NOT BE A KAGUEL FIC! IT MAY START OUT AS 

ONE BUT WON"T STAY ONE! - SORRY TO KAGUEL LOVERS!!

( Hey SVHSY fans, guess what'll happen!?!?!?! LoL!)

* Yes, to SVHSY fans- a Jeremy will be brought in. Actually, if you look closely enough, you can find him in this chapter...

Anyways, on to chapter 2...

Charity gave a sigh of relief as she headed to class. With everything that had been going on, like Miguel's football ordeal, this whole cheerleading thing, and all the stress at home, turning back to books and schoolwork would actually be more of a comfort than a pain.

She had always been a good student. Notice she used the words "good student" not "smart".

She wasn't smart. At least not book-smart. But she had enough street-smarts to find ways of getting around certain obstacles. Sometimes there's stuff more important than seeing who aces the english test.

Miguel was so dense sometimes. Just because these Harmony freaks had what they had now didn't mean they would have it in the future. In the near future, in fact.

There was no way in hell that Charity would allow this Kay Bennett chick to be captain again. Charity always got what she wanted. No matter what.

Charity Standish

English assignment: Please write a short essay on a book that has had a major impact on your life.

When I was little, my mom bought me a book of children's fables. My favorite story was one about the rabbit and the turtle, or something like that. 

Anyways, it showed how slow and steady can win the race. There are more ways of getting what you want than just being good at that subject. People get cocky and they let their guard down. If your smart, you'll know that that's when you strike. 

That same year, I wanted to be a cheerleader for Halloween. I would stand in the mirror with it on, thinking about being a cheerleader. My mom would laugh and say I was being "such a cute little girl".

From then on, I practiced everything I could that had to with cheerleading. One of my neighbors happened to be a cheerleader and she always helped me.

When I just started middle school, I was plain. I was awkward- not special. When I tried out for the cheerleading, everyone was shocked. I could tell that they obviously didn't think I could make it. 

At the first tryout day, I wasn't at all fazed by the difficult cheers or dances. I knew what I was doing. And unlike the other "cool" girls, I wan't tripping all over myself. Others girls recognized that I knew what I was doing, and asked for my help. And I helped them just enough so that they would make it, but not so that they were better than me.

Back to the fables. It showed me that things aren't always what they seem. To the front runners in life, watch your back.

Kay rushed into the lockeroom after school. It was empty. Was she already late for tryout practices? She glanced at her watch. It was already 2:35. Practice had started 5 minutes ago.

' Perfect. The one day Coach Jenn asks me to run practice, I have to be late.', Kay chided herself. 

She quickly changed and then ran into the gym.

Jumping onto the nearest bench, she clapped her hands and called for everyone's attention.

" Hi everyone! I'm Kay. Coach Jenn has a doctor's appointment today, so I'll be running practice today. If your all warmed up and stretched, let's get started! I need last year's varsity football squad up here to help teach the cheer.", Kay called out.

After summoning all the football girls ( Simone, Ali, Heather, Megs, Belle, Stacey and Gina ), she told them the cheer that they would be doing.

" But Kay, Hey, Hey You! is our hardest cheer!", Heather protested.

" Yeah Heather, what's your point?", Kay asked.

" Ookay.", Heather said, " But if anyone sprains an ankle, don't say I didn't warn you." 

Charity looked at the brunette girl who was obviously in charge. No doubt was this the girl that Miguel had told her about.

While she was good, Charity didn't really have any doubts that she was better. She found herself hanging toward the back of the crowd during practice. There was no rush for her to show Kay how easily she could turn a flip. How high her jumps soared. How perfect her body postitions were.

" Char? You okay?", her best friend Mindy asked.

" Uh huh.", Charity answered, still concentrating on Kay.

Mindy followed her gaze to Kay. " You're not actually worried about this Kay, are you? She's good, but she's no match for you."

" Yeah, no kidding, Charity. You have nothing to worry about." her other best friend, Emily added.

" Yeah, I know." Charity replied half-heartedly.

After nearly two hours of watching girl after girl fall on her butt, Kay had had enough. It was enough having to deal with all the death glares the less coordinated girls had been shooting her, but had taken all of Kay's self control not to laugh.

" Kay, girl, if looks could kill, you'd be dead and buried!", Simone said with a laugh.

" No kidding, Kay. I still can't believe you chose that cheer. It took the comp squad a freakin' week to learn that cheer!", Ali added, giggling.

" Well, I just wanted to let them know what they're in for. I mean, we did go to nationals last year, and this year I intend to place.", Kay said with a shrug.

" Weed out the graceless early?", Megs asked.

" If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to weed your own sister out. I think I killed my wrist.", Jessica added.

" Hey, don't stress Jess. You know you'll make JV this year, and you can make Varsity next year. And if they can't take tryouts, they shouldn't even be here.", Kay replied, " I know it sounds harsh, but this year, I want to have a killer squad. And we will. I can just feel it."

" Anyways, enough chitchat. I've gotta run. Jess, you need a lift home?", Kay asked her sister.

" No, Reese is giving me a ride home.", Jessica answered, a blush creeping into her cheeks.

" Oooh!" came the loud reply from nearly everyone in the locker room.

" Oh, Kay, wait!", Simone called, "We're having a strategy sessions at the book cafe. You know Coach Jenn the best- you HAVE to come!"

" I don't know Simone. I was actually going to get a head start on my history project.", Kay replied hesitantly.

" Kay, please don't tell me your going all nerd-", Simone started.

" Fine you guys! 9:30 sharp for an hour, okay?", Kay interrupted with a laugh.

" Thank you!" all her friends said in unison.

" Later!", Kay called as she walked out the door.

Jessica walked out to the parking lot. She was supposed to meet Reese by his car.

She spotted him, his face red and flushed from football practice, standing next to his red Sunfire.

" Hey Reese!", she called out, waving to him.

" Hey Jess! How was the tryout practice?", Reese asked in an easy voice.

" It was pretty good. Kay picked out a killer cheer and half of the girls were tripping over themselves.", Jessica said with a sparkle in her eye.

" Sounds like Kay all right.", Reese said with a laugh.

" Listen, I don't really wanna go home just yet. You wanna go out for some pizza?", Reese asked.

" Sure!", Jessica exclaimed.

They sped off to Pizza Hut.

Whitney looked up from her creative writing essay. Of course, being the nice guy that he is, Mr. Johnson had assigned an essay on the first day of school. Problem was, she had been struggling with it for the past 45 minutes.

The library was virually empty. Well, obviously. Who would be in the library studying on the first day of school. There was only one guy there. He actually was kinda cute... wait a minute! That's the guy that insulted her during her creative writing class!

Hmmm... what would she do? She could do the 7th grade thing and ignore him. Or she could make an attempt to be an adult and go say hi to dim. Tempting decision...

She stood up, took a deep breath and walked over to him.

" Hey, I'm Whitney Russell. I'm in your creative writing class.", she said, giving him a warm smile.

" Yeah, it's the Barbie wannabe.", he said, giving her a smile.

" And your the scorn and bile boy.", she snapped. Why had she even bothered trying to be friendly and civil?

" Ooh. Barbie's got a brain. I'm scared now.", Chad replied in a low voice.

" Listen, CHAD, I don't know what your problem is. I'm just trying to be nice. Would it be that difficult to just pretend to be a nice guy?", Whit asked.

" Let's talk about the real reason you came over here to talk to me, Whitney.", Chad said smirking.

" The real reason? I can't wait to hear this...", Whit said in a exaspered voice.

" You're fishing for a date, aren't you?", Chad asked, smirking again.

" Excuse me?", Whitney couldn't believe her ears, " FISHING for a date? I could get a date if I wanted to. I'm SORRY if I have better things to do than to worry about chasing pathetic little boys, like yourself, around!", Whitney exploded. She could not believe the nerve of this guy.

" Excuse me? I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Miss.", the librarian said to Whitney in a stern voice.

" Look what you did!", Whitney screeched, " I've never been kicked out a library before!"

" Well, they're asking you to leave because your making a scene. If only you were as mature as I am...", Chad trailed off.

" Actually, I also have to ask you to leave.", the librarian said to Chad.

" Mature? That's funny!",Whitney said laughingly, as she left the library.

That's it. She would stay away from Chad Harris from now on. He was nothing but trouble.

Jessica bursted out laughing.

" Hey! It's not THAT funny!", Reese exclaimed, throwing a piece of sausage at her.

It got stuck in her hair. " Reese! Your gonna pay!", Jessica shrieked as she whipped a piece of pepperoni at him.

As they goofed off, Reese started to feel something. Like a vibe between them. A romantic vibe.

' Could I have feelings for Jessica?', he asked himself.

' Nahh, she's just Kay's little sis.', his mind immeadiately responded.

' But she's not. Not anymore. She's a beautiful young woman who has a great sense of humor.', the other part of him said.

' I'm just being crazy. This is Jess.', he chided himself.

' Or is it?'

Theresa scanned the parking lot. Ethan was late. He was supposed to pick her up from school ten minutes ago. She let out an impatient breath.

Cheerleading tryouts had been a killer. It was unbelievable how hard it was. Theresa had decided to break out and try something new for a change. She didn't actually think that cheerleading would be remotely difficult, much less make her break out in a sweat. Still, she had a good time.

Just then, Ethan's red convertible sped into the parking lot. He slowed down and slid next to the sidewalk.

Theresa jumped up and dropped her books, running to Ethan. She have him a huge hug and a heartstopping kiss.

" Hey, now! Do you treat all your chauffers like this?", Ethan asked in a teasing voice.

" Only the sexy ones.", she answered before pulling him in for another kiss.

" Hey you two! Get a room, man!", Chad called out.

" Hey Chad! What's up?", Theresa asked in a chipper voice.

" Hey Chad.", Ethan said, slapping hands with Chad.

" I got kicked out of the library, dude. How many times can you tell me that's happened to you?", Chad asked with a laugh.

" Actually kicked out?", Theresa asked as Chad nodded, " Chad! What in the world did you do?"

" Hey, don't look at me! Some chick started freakin out on me. Her name is Whitney. Russell, I think. She's in our creative writing class.", Chad explained.

" Oh yeah! I remember her. She sits behind me. While we're on the subject, you were majorly harsh to her, Chad.", Theresa said with a sigh.

" Why? What did you do this time, Chad?", Ethan asked.

" Nothing. She kept on acting as if writing were as easy as making cookies. She kept on throwing out all these words like effort and dedication. She was just generally pissing me off.", Chad said.

" Uh, well, sorry to burst your little virtual reality bubble, but writing does require effort and dedication.", Theresa pointed out.

" Enough about Whitney Russell. How are you guys?", Chad asked, changing the subject.

" I can honestly say I don't think we've ever been better.", Ethan said, planting a kiss on the top of Theresa's head.

" Me, too.", Theresa whispered.

Kay rushed out to the parking lot. She always took so long, so the parking lot was practically empty.

Even though she had left before everyone else in the lockeroom, the trip to her locker and to leave Coach Jenn a note about practice had almost taken half an hour.

There was only one more car in the student parking lot. A guy was standing with his back to her. That shirt looked familar...

As he turned around, she realized that it was the guy she had been hoping to run into all day. It was Mr. Drop Dead Gorgous from History class!

" Hey!", she called brightly.

" Hey.", he replied with a somewhat guarded look in his eyes.

" You're in my American History class, right?", she asked in a cheery voice.

" Yeah, I think so.", he replied in his deep voice.

" I hear Mr. Peterson throws the worst pop quizzes. We can study together sometime, if you want.", Kay suggested breezily, writing her number on a scrap of paper and handing it to him.

She rewarded him with a smile and without another word, she walked to her car, threw her bag in and left without looking back. She could feel his eyes trained on her.

'Yes. This day had serious possibilities.', she thought happily. 

Jessica sighed. She was so bored. She had been working at the book cafe for over 3 hours.

' Is is possible to die from boredom?', she wondered silently.

She could have sworn that the clock had stopped ticking. She only had 45 minutes left of her shirt.

" You look like you're having the time of your life, Jess!", called a deep voice from behind her.

" Hey, Josh!", she answered, thrilled to have someone to talk to, " Are you on tonight?"

She casually checked him out. He was very cute, although not her type. He was tall, muscular and had deep brown hair accompanied with the brightest green eyes you could imagine. No, cute was not the word to describe him. More like downright hot.

'Kay would be drooling over him if she were here!', Jessica thought with a laugh.

" Actually,", he checked his watch, " I am on in about 43 and 1/2 seconds."

" Awesome. At least I won't be bored now.", Jessica said quietly to herself.

Kay walked into the book cafe at ten to nine. Why was it that her schedule was always 20 minutes behind everyone else's?

She quickly scanned the cafe for a table with her friends.

'Aha, there they are!', she thought as she rushed over to their table.

"Hey guys, I'm so sorry! I got caught up, and...", she trailed off.

" That's okay, Kay. But we're desperate. We need your input. How many people will Coach Jenn take from each school? Will some of us get cut?", Simone asked worriedly.

" Okay,", Kay said, jumping into the conversation," this is how I see it. Coach Jenn is big on team unity, right?", she looked around to see her friends nodding, " Well, then she's just going to act like there's nothing different from us and those Castleton losers. She'll pick the best of use, no matter from what school."

" Whew, that's a relief. I was starting to get worried.", Heather said, letting out a deep breath.

" So who do you think will make it from Castleton?", Kay asked.

" Well, that Faith or Charity girl was really good. She's the old Castleton captain.", Ali said.

Kay's mind wandered back to the tryout practice earlier that day. One particular girl stood out. She has fairy-tale blonde hair, a tiny, almost anorexic-like figure, pale skin and cold brown eyes. Brown eyes usually were warm and welcoming, but hers were anything but warm. They were hard, cold, and most disturbingly, they followed her, rarely blinking for almost two hours sraight.

" Tiny, anorexic-looking blondie with brown eyes?", Kay asked.

" Yeah, that's her, " Heather replied, "And Kay? I'd watch out for that girl. I've heard lots of nasty things about her. Real bitch if you get in her way. And considering your the favorite for captain, I'd definantly say your in her way."

Kay rolled her eyes. " Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not afraid of some blonde barbie girl that looks like she would break if I tapped her on the shoulder."

" She may not be strong, Kay, but she's got power. After you left, I heard some cheerleader wannabe's talk about her as if she were the freakin' Britney Spears of Maine!", Megs added.

" You guys, relax. Nothing bad is going to happen. And anyways, if it did, I'd be fine. I've got great friends like you guys!", Kay said.

" Yeah. Anyways, nothing is going to happen.", Simone agreed.

'Because if it did, I'm not sure who would stick around for you, Kay.

I'm not sure even I would', Simone thought.

Charity stared at the phone number in her hand. She had called Miguel earlier and they had gone out to Dairy Queen. She hadn't expected to find a girl's number in his glove compartment.

She could tell it was a girl's handwriting. And plus, what self respecting guy wrote in pink ink?

The question was, Who was it?

And even more importantly, why didn't he throw it away?

Charity took out her cell phone and dialed the number.

" Hello?", a girl picked up after the 2nd ring.

" Who is this?", Charity demanded.

" Jessica Bennett. Who's this?", Jessica asked.

" It doesn't matter.", Charity whispered as she hung up.


	3. 

Hey there! I'm on Spring Break right now so I'm trying to crank out 

as many chapters as I can! This one is a little short, sorry! I'm 

putting Give it Back on hold for a while. I've decided to 

concentrate on this fic for a while because I love this whole SVH 

meets Passions thing!! Anyways, here's chapter 3... and remember, 

FEEDBACK IS CHERISHED AND KEEPS ME WRITING!!

Note: Chad is not looking for his family. He's lived in Castleton 

all his life. He lives with his mother, because his father left him 

when he was 8 years old.

All's Fair In High School

Chapter 3

Kay looked at the clock impatiently. It was 8:02 pm. Miguel 

said he was coming at 8:00! What if he decided not to show up?

'Chill.', she told herself,'the boy is only two minutes 

late."

She walked upstairs to her room and checked her reflection 

in the mirror. Maybe she wouldn't have chosen a cute little black 

dress with silver sandals for a night with her history book, but 

Miguel didn't know that.

Miguel was different. He hadn't been throwing flirtatious 

comments at her, but she could tell that he was attracted to her. 

Somehow he was more cautious. The boy did not lack confidence, that 

much was for sure. But somehow he had been tenative when she had 

gave him her number in the parking lot.

'Why?', her mind asked automatically. But she brushed it 

off. The word "why" was something she had never spent much time 

with. In her mind, all it was was trouble.

She ran downstairs to the basement to check the setting. 

Perfect. Her books were tossed onto the coffeetable, next to a bowl 

of popcorn. She had one of her dad's old jazzy romantic CD's on.

The doorbell rang, causing Kay jump in surprise. She ran up 

to the door, seeing Jess approach it. She shot a death glare at her 

sister, warning her to stay away. Luckily, Jessica took the hint and 

walked off.

Kay took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. There he 

was. Looking picture perfect. God, he was nice to look at.

" Hey.", she said, giving him a smile.

" Hey.", he replied, not taking his eyes off her.

She stepped inside as he followed her. " My stuff's 

downstairs. I can get my notes for you, if your in a rush, or...", 

Kay trailed off, looking at him quizzically.

" Huh?", Miguel asked, obviously not paying attention to 

what she was saying. He was still staring at her, and she could feel 

shivers running down her back.

" Are you in a rush?", Kay asked, catching herself before a 

giggle escaped her lips. He looked like a jackrabbit, ready to take 

off if she made a wrong move.

" No, I'm not.", he said, shifting his gaze from her.

This was getting nowhere. Kay took his hand and lead him 

down the stairs to the basement. It was risky, she knew, but she had 

a feeling that if she didn't do something, they would still be 

standing in the doorway.

Kay dropped his hand as soon as they reached the bottom of 

the stairs, her hand still tingling from his touch.

" I have my notes over here.", Kay said reaching for her 

notes.

" Kay.", Miguel said in a commanding voice, " I didn't come 

here to study."

He reached over to her an took her hand, pulling her closer 

to him until their faces were mere inches apart.

" You are so beautiful.", he whispered before leaning down 

and kissing her.

Kay lost herself in the wonderful bliss. Every single one of 

her thoughts crashed.

She wasn't aware of anything until she felt herself leaning 

backward, and she realized that Miguel was pushing her onto the 

leather couch.

Fast. Too Fast. Her mind screamed.

But it feels so good. I don't want to let go... she argued 

with herself.

Miguel's hand found it's way to the zipper of her dress. She 

immeadiately broke away from his kiss.

" I-- I'm sorry,", she stammared, "but we're going too 

fast."

Miguel looked down at the floor. " Yeah, I know. I'm sorry."

Kay's heart soared. He understood! She had been so afraid 

that she had scared him off!

He turned and gave Kay another heartstopping kiss before 

saying, " You're something special, Kay. I'll never forget you."

After he left, Kay was confused. Their relationship had just 

begun. Why did he make is sound so final?

Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald

I couldn't do it. I couldn't tell Kay about Charity. I love 

Charity. I still do. But there's something about Kay. While Charity 

is so complicated, Kay is carefree and fun.

How did I get myself into this mess?

Jessica Bennett

Well, Kay had a nice night. From what she told me, she met 

some Miguel guy and sparks flew. And she just cemented her new love 

with him by making out in the basement.

I don't mean to sound bitter. I love my sister, and I'm 

really happy for her. Kay's done a lot of the 

falling-without-looking-first type of "love".

But this is different. She was talking in this amazing 

voice, and her eyes were absolutely sparkling.

But when will it be my turn? When will I get the lovey-dovey 

voice, and the sparkling eyes, and... everything else.

It's not fair. Kay always gets everything.

" That's Jessica Bennett?", Charity asked incredously, 

looking at the little sophmore, " Okay, she's a LITTLE GIRL!"

" Yeah.", Mindy agreed, " Miguel probably just shoved her 

number in his glove compartment because he didn't have anywhere else 

to put it, Char."

Charity looked at Jessica again. She was very pretty, but 

she was so young, Miguel would never be intrested in her. 

Charity felt as if a million weights had been lifted off of 

her shoulders.

' Thank god,', she thought, 'I don't know what I would do 

without Miguel.'

Kay rushed down the school hall. The bell would ring any 

second now. She had a wonderful dream about Miguel last night and 

slept right through her alarm clock.

She turned the corner and ran into... a very pleasantly 

scented brick wall.

" Slow down Kay.", Miguel's deep voice came from behind her 

as he put both of his hands on her shoulders.

" Miguel! What are you doing? Class is gonna start any 

second.", Kay asked, surprised to see him.

" I just had a meeting with Coach Russell. Reese had a 

family emergency. His grandfather has cancer or something, and he 

has to go stay with him for a while.", Miguel explained.

" And?", Kay asked, a smile creeping into her face.

" And Coach Russell is going to make me first string!", 

Miguel said excitedly.

" That's great!", Kay exclaimed, jumping up to give Miguel a 

hug.

He only returned the hug slightly. Kay looked at him.

" Is something wrong?", she asked, thrown off by his cold 

attitude.

" Nothing. I just wasn't supposed to tell anyone.", Miguel 

said, avoiding her strong gaze.

" Well, we should go celebrate!", Kay suggested, trying to 

brush off his negative vibe.

Miguel's eyes lit up at the suggestion. " Yeah, do you want 

to go have dinner tonight?"

" That sound's great!", Kay replied happily.

" I'll pick you up at eight tonight, okay?", Miguel said, 

But I really have to go now."

Kay stared at him as he walked away. There was something not 

right. Just not right.

" And since we've just begun the year, today I will allow 

you to read your essay to a partner instead of the whole class. I 

want you to be comfortable with your writing before having to reveal 

it to your peers.", Mr. Johnson said, "And I will be picking your 

partners for you."

The entire class let out a groan.

Whitney tried not to roll her eyes. You could practically 

mistake this class's maturity level for that of a 7th grade class.

" Whitney Russell and Chad Harris.", Mr. Johnson called out.

Whitney looked up at the ceiling and whispered, " Why are 

you doing this to me?"

" Let's get this over with.", Chad said, approaching her.

" Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly thrilled to be doing 

this either.", Whitney snapped.

Ignoring her, Chad started to read his essay.

Whitney closed her eyes, expecting some stupid, boring essay 

about how Marilyn Manson was his role model.

Instead, she was intrigued by his style of writing. Each 

line was better than the last.

'Wow,', she thought,' he's actually good. Really good.'

As he finished, Whitney forced a smile onto her face.

" That was good, Chad.", she said honestly.

As she started to read her essay, she compared it to his. 

His was humorous while it had a serious sense to it. Hers was dull 

and lifeless, nothing even close compared to his.

There was a lot she could learn from Chad Harris.

Chad Harris

Loss. It's a weird word. Sometimes loss can be good. Loss 

helped me discover my best friend, Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald.

It was a bright, sunny day when I was 10. I was a bully's 

dream. Since my mom had always wanted a girl, and got me instead, 

she always dressed my up in "cute" clothes. But I had something that 

everyone else envied: the best collection of baseball cards in the 

neighborhood. I had one particular card, signed by Cal Ripken Jr. 

that everone always wanted.

Well, Theresa has an older brother, Luis. He never liked me 

very much, anyways. He stole my precious card and buried it 

somewhere in his backyard. Theresa, comes knocking on my door, 

telling me that she knew where my baseball card was. So this girl, 

that I had never met before, stayed out all day, skipped dinner ( 

and dessert ) to help me find this card. We never did find it.

Now sitting here, listening to Theresa go on and on about 

fate and how 

I have to believe in love, I realize that if that event hadn't 

occured, I would have my best friend.

My father told me one true thing. He said that there are 

very few precious things in life. And that useless piece of 

cardboard helped me find one.

Ethan looked at his college acceptance letter again. His 

father had just spent another hour trying to convince him to go to 

Harvard.

But he couldn't do it. He just couldn't leave Theresa. She 

was his life. He needed her.

But then again, he couldn't put his life on hold forever 

just for her. He had to do something for himself, too.

He picked up the phone and called Theresa.

" Hello?", Theresa answered the phone.

" Hey baby.", Ethan said.

" Hi! What are you doing?", Theresa asked in her cheery 

voice.

" Nothing much. Listen, there's something we neeed to talk 

about.Do you want to talk it over dinner tonight? We could go to 

Sally's...", Ethan suggested.

" Sounds great. Pick me up at 7:30?", Theresa asked.

" Okay. Love you.", Ethan said, hanging up.

There was no more avoiding it. They had to talk about his 

college acceptance. Tonight. 


	4. 

Hi! I've done it again! Another chapter. You have no idea how proud 

of myself I am, even if it is a little shorter than the usual. I'm 

glad y'all are enjoying this. As usual, feedback is cherished and 

keeps me writing!

BTW, the Welcome Back Dance is coming up pretty soon...

All's Fair in High School

Chapter 4

Kay smiled at Miguel as she squeezed his hand. They had been 

sitting at this cute little cafe for nearly ten minutes and he 

hadn't shifted his gaze from her. His beautful brown eyes seemed to 

be melting into her...

" So do you always celebrate 45 minutes away from Harmony?", 

Kay asked. 

" I just didn't want to run into anyone from school.", 

Miguel explained.

" Why not?", Kay asked. She would have loved nothing more 

than running into one of her friends with Miguel.

Miguel's eyes slid down to the table. " Uh, well, first of 

all, we're celebrating something that no one is supposed to know 

about yet."

Then he looked up into Kay's eyes. "And I just wanted to be 

alone with you."

Good answer. Kay's heart jumped with happines as she leaned 

him and rewarded him with a light kiss.

She had been wrong earlier. She and Miguel were just 

perfect. Nothing could possibly ruin this for her.

Ethan lead Theresa into Sally's Chinese Restaurant. Tonight 

was not going to be fun. He just wasn't sure how to bring up his 

college acceptance.

" Hello, Theresa and Ethan. You're both looking great 

tonight.", Sally greeted them.

" Hi, Sally! It's great to see you.", Theresa said to Sally, 

her eyes bright.

Ethan started to panic as Sally lead them to a private booth 

in the far corner of the restaurant.

" And what would you like tonight?", Sally asked.

" Go ahead.", Ethan motioned for Theresa to order first.

" Well, I'll have the Lemon Chicken with an iced tea.", 

Theresa responded.

" And I will go with the Mongolian Beef with a Sprite, 

please.", Ethan said.

" Your orders will be out shortly.", Sally answered, taking 

their menus.

" So--", they both said at the same time.

" Let me go first, Ethan.", Theresa said firmly. " I've been 

thinking about this whole college thing. I know it will be hard, but 

I don't want you to put off your life for me."

" But you're not--", Ethan protested.

" No, listen. I know it sounds selfish, but I didn't want 

you to go because I was afraid of losing you. But I've realized that 

I have a bigger chance of losing you if I didn't let you go to 

college. I would end up feeling guilty, and you would end of 

resenting me for holding you back from your full potential. If we're 

meant to be together, Fate will keep us together while you're 

away.", Theresa said, looking at her hands, clasped nervously 

together.

" Theresa.", Ethan responded, clasping a hand over hers. " 

How could I ever resent you? You're the most wonderful woman I could 

ever ask for."

Theresa looked up at him, a tear spilling on to her cheek. " 

So that's it huh? When will you be leaving?"

" Well, Harvard actually starts about a week from now. I 

could go an retract my deference. That way I could start at the 

beginning of the school year instead of missing a semester.", Ethan 

suggested slowly.

" I love you. And I have to not be afraid to let you go.", 

Theresa whispered.

But can I?

Charity stared deep into Miguel's eyes. They kept on 

shifting from her gaze.. Avoiding her eyes.

" Congratulations on getting the starting postion. I just 

wished that you would of told me, instead of having to find it out 

from the rumor mill.", Charity said with a bitter twist in her 

voice.

" I'm sorry. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone.", Miguel said 

with an apologetica look in his eyes.

' You're a lousy liar Miguel. I know you too well. You 

weren't allowed to tell anyone, but you did.', Charity thought 

angrily.

Someone had taken him from her. And this wasn't some 

no-brainer either. Someone had managed to slip into his soul and 

take his heart from her. 

And that girl, whoever she was, would pay.

" So my company needs me to go to Chicago for about 3 weeks. 

We have a big case there, and they've offered me a generous bonus if 

I take the job.", Chad's mother, Lisa, explained.

" Really? Sounds like fun.", Chad replied.

" So your okay with it?", Lisa asked, with obvious relie in 

her voice.

" Yeah, why wouldn't I be?", he asked suspiciously.

" Well, you're not legally an adult yet, so I can't leave 

you here alone for nearly a month...", she trailed off.

" What!?! Mom, come on. I'm seventeen. I can take care of 

myself.", Chad said, exasperated.

" I know, I know. But I have to do this. Otherwise, someone 

will accuse me of neglecting you or something, and I really can't 

afford to hire another lawyer.", Lisa said, cracking a smile.

" Mom...", Chad whined.

" Chad, listen. I already have something lined up. There's a 

coach at your new school that will give you a room at his house for 

a month. It's very private, it's got it's own entrance so you can 

come and go as you please without disturbing the rest of the 

family.", Lisa offered.

" Mom, I'm only doing this because I love you.", Chad 

grunted.

" Thank you so much, honey! After I get this bonus, I'll 

take you somewhere nice, I promise! ", Chad's mom exclaimed, giving 

him a hug.

Somehow I have a feeling I'll regret this.", Chad muttered.

" And after dinner, we shared this amazing banana split.", 

Kay was saying to Theresa, a girl in the her drama class.

" Really? That sounds great!", Theresa said. " What did you 

say his nam was again?"

" Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald.", Kay replied. Just the name was 

so romantic...

Theresa looked shocked, and opened her mouth to say 

something but was interrupted by Ms. Nelson.

" Girls! Are you going to sit on the stage gossiping all 

hour?", she called over to them.

They joined the rest of their class, and were working away 

busily until the end of the class.

Theresa gave Kay a sympathetic look and passed her a note.

Kay read the note. It was brief, but really, really painful.

Kay-

I don't really know you, but you seem like a cool person. 

Beware,

Miguel has a serious girlfriend. She had major power at 

Castleton,

and I'm sure she will here, too.

Theresa

Chad looked at the address his mother had given him. This 

was the house, alright.

He grabbed his suitcase and knocked on the door.

The door opened, and he couldn't have been more shocked if 

Julia Roberts had opened the door.

" What the hell are you doing here?", Whitney demanded.


	5. 

All's Fair In High School Ch

All's Fair In High School Ch.5

Kay ran to the girl's bathroom. Tears were running uncontrollably down her face. 

She couldn't believe it. How could this have happened to her? She had always thought that there was something strange about Miguel's behavior when she first met him. How was she supposed to know that he had a serious girlfriend whom he was cheating on- with her??

She couldn't believe that she had actually considered asking him to go to the Welcome Back dance on Friday. What was she, crazy?

Kay splashed some water on her face and checked her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were still puffy and red, but they had a sense of determination in them.

She walked out of the bathroom and looked around for Miguel. 

Kay Bennett: Lessons in Dating

Lesson 101:

When a guy blows you off, blow him off worse.

Miguel laughed, talking to Justin and Matt, two of his best friends on the football team. Life really couldn't get any better than this. He was the star quarterback. He had Kay. Hell, he had Charity, too. What could possibly bring him down?

Then his world came crashing down as he saw Kay approach him. And the look on her face told him that she was not happy.

" Miguel. We have to talk.", Kay said in a raspy voice.

' Oh God. She's been crying.', Miguel thought, with a sinking feeling.

" Kay, can this wait until later?", he asked, nervously looking around at the crowd that had formed around them.

" You have a girlfriend. A serious girlfriend that you don't plan on breaking up with.", Kay said, silently begging that he would tell her it wasn't true.

" Yeah.", he whispered, not daring to look into her eyes.

" How could you lead me on, you bastard?", Kay asked, her eyes blazing.

Miguel remained silent.

" I never want to see you again. You and your pathetic little girlfriend deserve eachother.", Kay yelled.

With that, she turned and left, before anyone could see the tears streaming down her face.

Charity looked at Kay again. She was talking very fast, blabbing something to a big group of girls in the gym.

" Mindy, will you go see what her deal is?", Charity asked, her eyes trained on Kay.

Mindy casually walked over to the group around Kay and listened to what she was saying. Her eyes widened. A second later her jaw dropped. She gave Charity a panicked look. 

She ran back to Charity. She almost looked frightened to say what she had heard.

" Tell me!", Charity demanded. It couldn't be that bad, could it?

" Well, uh, apparently she hooked up with some guy that had a serious girlfriend. And the guy didn't tell her.", Mindy said quietly.

Alarm bells had started going off in Charity's mind. It couldn't possibly be her, could it?

" I'm sorry, Char. It was Miguel.", Mindy whispered, putting her hand supportingly on Charity's shoulder.

Charity immeadiately found Miguel. She had to talk to him. This stupid Kay couldn't be telling the truth, could she? Could Miguel really have cheated on her?

" Miguel. I have to talk to you.", she said quietly.

He didn't say a word, just took her hand and pulled her into an empty classroom.

" Char, I--", he began.

" Did you kiss her?", she asked, tears forming puddles in her eyes.

" Char, I--I", he stuttered.

" Did you kiss her, damn it!", she yelled, the tears finally streaming down her beautiful face.

Miguel started to freak out. He couldn't tell her. The last time she had gotten this upset...

" No, Charity. I didn't kiss her.", Miguel lied, looking down at the floor.

" Really?", Charity asked meekly.

" Yeah. She came onto me, and got pissed when I told her I had a girlfriend.", he explained, getting more confident.

And Charity decided to let it go. She wasn't going to let some cheerleader wanna-be get in the way of their relationship. She and Miguel were a perfect match. No one could ever change that.


	6. 

Chapter 6- All's Fair

Chapter 6- All's Fair

Note: Jessica and Whitney are really close friends.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except Christy, 

Mindy, Ali ( sometimes I spell it Ally), Stacey, Justin and Chris.

All the others belong to JER. I also don't own any of the 

storylines. They belong to Francine Pascal. I love the SVHSY series, 

so I know a lot of the books by heart, and thus, much of the wording 

may be similar to those books. Especially from this chapter, I took 

a lot right from the book Can't Stay Away. On to the chapter...

All's Fair In High School

Chapter 6

Whitney paced back and forth though her room. This was not 

possible. It couldn't ACTUALLY be happening. How did Chad Harris end 

up LIVING with her?

She was just so confused! Sometimes he repulsed and annoyed 

her to a point that she never even thought possible.

And the other 90% of the time, she just really wanted him...

How did things get so messed up?

Simone Russell's Fall Fashion Editiorial for the Harmony High 

Newspaper

Fashion is important. People judge you on what your wearing. 

So listen up, guys and girls, I've got a few things to say.

First off, skirts and boots do not belong in the same 

outfit. You don't see Tyra Banks trying to pull off the whole sexy 

cowgirl act now, do you? Take a hint. And don't wear white after 

Labor Day. I don't care how hot it is outside! You just can't do it! 

And don't believe all the hype about knockoffs. If you can't afford 

the real thing, then forget about it.

For the amazing large number of you who think 70's fashion 

is cool, I have some shocking news for you. It's not. I don't want 

to see any more bell-bottoms. Put away those pathetic double knit 

shirt-- in fact, thrown them away; they won't be coming back into 

style anytime this lifetime. Here's a phrase that's easy to remember 

: Polyester is never okay.

A special word to you girls who hang out on the upper field 

during lunch: the Gap is not the only store in the world. I know it 

sounds scary, but there are alternatives. Try another store. I know 

you can do it.

And I'm afraid that there's only one thing to say to you 

guys in the Star Trek shirts who sit in the right hand corner of the 

caf during lunch: seek help immeadiately.

Real style takes work. If you're going to be hip, you've got 

to commit yourself. Go to the mall everyday and look at sales (that 

is, if you need to buy stuff on sale). Read fashion magazines. Or at 

least look at the pictures.

I like to pick out what I'm going to wear the next day 

before I go to bed. That way, the next morning, I'm not rushing 

around. You might want to all follow my lead in that department. 

I've seen people at Harmony High that look like they put on the 

first thing their hands hit in their closet in the morning. Believe 

me, it shows.

That's all for now. Don't thank me yet. Thank me later, when 

the halls of Harmony High are no longer a fashion nightmare.

( Hehe... I just wanted to show you how singularly snotty and single 

minded I picture Simone as!!)

" There they are," Charity murmured to Mindy and Emily, 

steering them through the skylighted corridor of the mall.

It was 7 o'clock on Thursday evening, and Simone and Ali 

were standing in front of Bebe's studying a pair of leather pants. 

Charity was relieved that it had taken such a short time to find 

them.

" Simone, Ali, hi!", Charity called brightly.

The two girls turned around. Simone looked a little 

surprised at Charity's friendliness.

" So are you guys getting ready for the big night?" Charity 

asked easily. " The leather pants are very cool, by the way."

" That's what I think." Ali said, shooting Simone a 

satisfied look. " We were just arguing them over."

" I say go for it." Emily suggested.

" Listen, we're heading over to the Aveda Day Spa to get 

manicures and pedicures," Charity explained, " but I'm really glad 

we ran into you. A bunch of us are getting together for a predance 

thing on the beach by Mariner's Point. It's kind of a Castleton 

tradition.

" Justin and Chris made a point of asking whether you two 

would be there." Mindy added, naming Miguel's two best friends, both 

extremely desirable.

Ali's face glowed. Charity knew that she would be a simple 

target. A few well place words would make a personal slave out of 

Ali. It was Simone's face that she carefully studied. Simone would 

suspect more ramifications.

" Sounds like fun." Ali chirped, "What time?"

" Seven-thirtyish?", Charity suggested.

" What about you Simone?", Mindy pressed.

Simone slung her leopard print bag over her shoulder. " Am I 

right in guessing that Kay Bennett isn't invited?"

Good for you, Charity thought, I'm impressed.

Charity had been keeping her expression impassive, but maybe 

a tiny smile would do some good. It was a moment of confidence.

" I'm sure you understand why Kay isn't my favorite person 

right now, So no. I'm not going out of my way to invite her." 

Charity said evenly. The last part was simply for Ali's bebfit, a 

little balm for the girl's conscious, should it ever appear.

Simone remained silent. She was holding out. That was fine.

" We've really gotta run. But we'll be at Aveda is you need 

us.", Charity said, no sight or care in her voice of face.

" So we'll see you at the beach?", Mindy asked.

Charity sent Mindy a telepathic thank-you. She had been 

dying to ask Simone the very same question, but didn't want to make 

herself look desperate for their friendship. Because she wasn't.

Simone thought for another moment. She obviously saw the 

answer to this question would mean. Instance acceptence into the 

Castleton crowd, or destroyed social status.

" I'll see you there." Simone answered finally.

Good answer, Simone, thought Charity, Good answer.

Simone Russell

The landscape of Harmony High is changing fast, anyone with 

a brain can see that. My friend, Kay Bennett, seems to have 

temporarily put her brain on ice.

Reese is gone. His absense has left open the most important 

postion in the entire school. The school's social leader. The word 

is, with Reese gone, the Castleton QB is primed to take over. Honors 

classes and school societies are fast filling up with Castleton 

people. Even in the first week of school, the Castleton elite is 

throwing raging parties and only inviting a select one or two 

Harmony people.

And then there's Charity Standish. She is one to watch. And 

don't be fooled by her fragile look. She's so sharp, it's almost 

scary.

This is the part where I get to Kay. She doesn't realize how 

much trouble she's getting herself into. And even if she did know, 

she wouldn't see Charity as a major threat. But I've spent too many 

years of country club butt kissing not to recognize who's got power 

and who doesn't.

And I know this sounds horrible, but you don't know Kay like 

I do. She hasn't stolen your boyfriends, borrowed, ruined or lost 

half your closet, or charmed your parents completely so that they 

say things like, " That Kay

works hard at her job; reminds me of when I was in high school" in 

my father's case or, " Please ask Kay to come shopping with us 

today. She has such an eye." in my mother's. It's pretty nauseating.

Kay and I have an understanding: only the fit survive. She 

doesn't need my help, and I never expect hers. Kay is a survivor, 

she'll find a way out of this mess.

Either way, it's not my problem.

Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald's Rants and Raves Article

Why is it that people think that in order to be a feminist you have 

to be into guy things? You have to be a jock. You have to be a 

career woman. You have to wear the pants. Staying at home to raise 

the kids is out. Wearing pink is TOTALLY out. And being a 

cheerleader? Don't even do there.

I consider myself a feminist. I'm also a pom-pom wavin, 

cartwheel turnin' varsity cheerleader. And I'm damn proud of it.

Whitney stared into her closet. There was the short, pale 

yelloe mini-dress with the spagetti straps. The long navy linen 

skirt with the matching tank top. A black mini-skirt. A long-sleeved 

silky, flowered blouse. She was leaning toward the miniskirt. The 

yellow mini-dress wasd definantly out. Chad Harris would think she 

was a total dork.

Wait a minute- since when did Chad's opinion of her affect 

how she dressed? Since when did Whitney let a guy affect her image. 

The last time she did that, she dressed up as a horse so that Alex, 

her neighbor, could be the mighty and mysterious Zorro. She grabbed 

the yellow dress and pulled it over her head and went to study her 

appearance in the mirror.

Truth was, she did look dorky. The dress was way too 

conservative, even with it's short length. She pilled it off and 

left it in a heap on the floor. Whitney reached for the black 

miniskirt and pulled it over her hips, admiring the cut. Chad 

probably wouldn't even be there. But if he was, it wouldn't hurt to 

look drop-dead gorgous, right?

Suddenly she had an idea. She searched he closet for a black 

silk camisole. simone had gived it to her last Christman, and 

borrowed it several times since then, but Whitney had never worn it. 

She slipped the weightless fabric over her head and turned back to 

her closet. She found a sheer, slightly shimmery, wine-colered 

blouse. At the time, she's hadn't known what had possessed Simone to 

buy it. But it was perfect for Whitney's current mood. Sophisticated 

and Sexy. With a pair of black open hole sandles and a little 

burgundy lip gloss, she'd be set.

And if Chad Harris happens to like this outfit, that's not 

my fault, is it?

At the beach, Charity smiled to herself. This was too 

perfect. With Miguel's strong arms wrapped around her, she felt 

safe. Safe from anything at all...

As she looked around at new newly invited guests, she 

smiled.

Simone was engaged in an old-fashioned lip lock with Justin.

And Ali was sitting by the fire, talking to Chris, who 

looked very intrested in her.

She just couldn't wait to get to the dance. To show Kay 

Bennett not to ever lay her dirty little eyes on Charity's boyfriend 

again. Ever.

Kay walked into the school. She decided to make a quick run 

to the bathroom before she made her grand appearance at the dance.

She opened the door and gave everyone a bright, " Hi!"

Of all the 6 girls standing there, none even gave her a 

second glance. They just all ignored her, or gave her a dirty look.

" Hi Sophie!" She said to one of the girls, recognizing her 

from her french class.

" Uh, hi, Kay.", Sophie whispered, not looking directly at 

Key.

" Ookay.", Kay said, wondering what was going on with these 

people.

She quickly checked her relection, admiring the way her 

gorgous red dress hugged her body.

She left hurriedly and ran to the gym, ready to have a 

fantastic time without Miguel. Who needs that loser?

As she got there, a slow song began, and she looked around 

for Jessica, to see who she was dancing with.

She saw a very cute guy standing in front of her. She slowed 

down her pace to allow him to ask her to dance. She didn't quite get 

the reaction she was hoping for. All he did was nudge the guy 

standing next to him and laugh.

She brushed it off and went further into the gym.

" Nice Zipper, Kay! Easy access!", some sleezy guy whistled.

" Yeah, it's sure gonna get a workout tonight, huh?", 

another guy reponded with a cruel voice.

Kay ignored them and kept walking. But she had a sinking 

feeling in her heart. What was going on?

Whitney looked around the gym. She had been scanning it for 

the last 10 minutes, but Chad had been a no-show. She didn't see him 

at her house getting ready or anything. She had just assumed that he 

was going.

Why am I so disapointed?, she asked herself, Okay, so he's 

hot. But I've only known him for, like, a week!

But if he means nothing to me, why do I keep wishing he was 

here, dancing with me?

Chad Harris

You wanna know why I didn't go to the dance tonight? Because 

I actually wanted to go. And that scares me.

I wanted to see Whitney, I know I'll see her constantly, 

we're living together for God's sake! But it really would have been 

fun to dance with her, to talk to her, to hold her...

What am I saying? This is all crazy talk...

Kay kept weaving her way through the crowd. Miguel. She 

froze. She should have turned away. For her own good. But she was 

frozen in place. His arms were wrapped protectively around a slender 

blonde girl.

Oh god. It was the girl from cheerleading tryouts. The one 

with the cold brown eyes. And they were focused on her. But this 

time, there was pure hatred in them, and Kay couldn't stand it 

anymore.

She felt like her heart had been ripped out. How could 

Miguel have done this to her? How could he have been so ruthless, so 

horrible, so... heartless?

She took off running before anyone could see the tears 

streaming down her face.

Kay Bennett

I'm in my bed crying. And my red dress is on the floor. So I guess 

it really wan't a dream. It was real. Who am I kidding? I was a 

dream-- a nightmare. But I have a feeling that I might not be able 

to wake up from it.


	7. 

Here is chapter 7

Here is chapter 7!! It will probably be the last chapter I post for a few days, because I have to go back to school tomorrow :(

As usual, feedback is cherished and keeps me writing!!

Honors English 12: What is Love?

Kay Bennett

I used to think love was about losing yourself. Letting yourself go and letting the person you loved be there and catch you. The thing is, the guys I pick never seem willing to play catcher. They always just sort of want to play, I don't know, ping-pong or something.

Whitney Russell

Love is about trust. It's about opening yourself up to a person and knowing the he'll respect you for the fact that your baring your soul. It's about sharing. Being totally equal in a relationship and not losing a sense of who you are just to impress the other person. I truly believe the saying that you have to love yourself before you can love someone else. Because when your in love, holding on to your sense of self can be difficult. But the more aware you are of who you are, the less likely you are to... I'm repeating myself, aren't I?

Here's one thing I know for sure- crushes are not love. They're temporary, fleeting, and often totally unfounded. Don't ever mistake a crush for love. Unless you want your heart crushed.

Chad Harris

Love sucks.

Jessica Bennett

I've never been in love before. So if I was in love, I wouldn't really know it, would I?

I'm looking forward to it. The jolt of electricity... everything. It sounds pretty unlikely, but a girl can hope, can't she?

Charity Standish

Love is always being there for eachother. And helping eachother through mistakes.

Unconditional Love.

And forgiveness.

If you want love to last, you have to practice forgiveness- even in the most painful situations. If you can't do that, then don't even think about it. Because contrary to the male population's belief, they are not perfect.

Not a single one of them.

Not even Miguel.

Whitney woke up early Sunday morning.Not quite awake, she tripped over something on her way to the bathroom. She opened the door.

And to her amazement there was already someone in there.

Chad Harris was standing in front of her, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

" I'm-- I'm sorry," Whitney stammered. " I need to, uh, I need..."

She trailed off, unable to form a coherent sentance. Chad had been the focus of every single one of her daydreams in the past few days, but she had never imagined him like this. Beads of water dripping from his dark hair onto his glistening shoulders. Quite a jolt to the heart on a Sunday morning.

" What are you doing in here?" Chad snapped.

" I-- I... Wait a minute! This is MY bathroom. What are YOU doing in here?" She demanded.

" Coach Russell told me to use this one, it's the closest to my room." Chad said, glaring at Whitney. " Anyways, don't you have somewhere to be. Tennis practice of something?"

" Actually, I have to put together the layout for the school newspaper today. I'm the editor." Whitney shot back, placing her hands on her hips.

" Oh right, the school newspaper." Chad's voice seethed with sarcasm. " What do you do, write about how the cafeteria should serve bothe regular AND chocolate milk?"

" Well at least I do something instead of ranking on everything else! What are you, the President of the Ironic Remarks Club?", she shot back.

She stared up at him, too infuriated to speak. For a moment, their gazes locked and she look down. She immeadiately realized that she was staring at his chest, and concentrated on a tile somwhere over his head.

" I...", she came up with nothing. Damn, he was annoying.

He was seriously pissing her off. So why was she still standing in her steamy bathroom with him?

" You are the most obnoxious idiot I have ever met.", Whitney spat, after about a two minute period of silence.

" Thanks for sharing.", Conner said, supressing a laugh. It was just way too easy to get a rise out of this girl.

She was obviouly beyond pissed that he was staying at her house- but it was actually very amusing to see how embarrassed she got. Way more embarrassed than a normal person who walked in on someone else in the shower. A normal person would have left 5 minutes ago.

Whitney was gripping the doorknow so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

" You could attempt to be civil.", she went on, her voice gaining strength. " I mean, you are staying at my house."

" Point taken.", he replied curtly. " Now would you mind leaving so that I can shave in peace?"

" Gladly." Whitney shot back. But instead of leaving , she took his arm and, before he realized what was happening, pushed him into the hallway, slamming ( and probably locking, too) the door behing him.

Kay Bennet placed a carton of skim milk on her lunch tray. Today was mystery meat day, and she was not looking forward to that.

Instead, she sighed as she picked up a large salad and yogurt. Not especially appetizing, but she needed high energy foods for today's pre-tryout cheerleading practice. As she headed to the checkout counter, she heard a familar laugh and froze.

Charity Standish was stand right behind her, equipped with her two pathetic sidekicks, Mindy and Emily.

" Oh excuse me, are we in a sleazy nightclub? Silly me, I though we were in the school cafeteria.", Mindy laughed, looking at Kay's skirt.

Emily bursted out laughing, and Charity's thin mouth curved into a small smile. But her eyes were narrowed, cold, and unchanging.

Kay opened her mouth, ready to retort with something like, " Is that the best you can do?", but she froze. There he was. Miguel was standing a few paces behind Charity, his hands at his sides, looking as if he wasn't sure whether to come closer.

As Kay's words died in her mouth, Miguel met her eye. His brown-eyed gaze was pained- whether it was embarrassed or apologetic, Kay couldn't tell.

Either way, just looking at him hurt. How could he stand there, letting her take all their abuse, knowing that HE was the one who had caused it?

Charity breezed past her. Kay realized a second too late that she had let them get the last word. Miguel hesitated, and for a sickeningly nerve-racking moment, Kay thought he was about to come over to her. Then he followed Charity, swerving to keep his distance from Kay.

Irrational tears sprung in Kay's eyes. She stared down at the floor, trying hard to blot out the memory of the intense yet tender way that Miguel had kissed her. 'There was no deep connection.' she reminded herself bitterly. Miguel was just using her, trying to sneak a quicky in on the side before he slunk back to his girlfriend, being the dog he was. The thing was, Miguel had seemed so sweet and so different from other guys. But he was a fake, and not even worth her tears.

Kay blinked a few times and quickly glanced down at her skirt. After Mindy's comment, it had suddenly felt 6 inches shorter than it was. She could ditch lunch and run home to change. But that was admitting defeat. And Kay Bennett wasn't quite ready to do that yet.


	8. 

Hey you guys! I hope you guys like this, because I majorly worked my 

butt off to get this done tonight!! Remember, in Claire's (that's 

me!) land, Jessica and Whitney are best buds!

All's Fair In High School

Chapter 8

Kay Bennett

People say you can't judge a book by it's cover. But who 

really believes that? If there's anything I've actually learned, 

it's that first impressions are important. Anyone who says otherwise 

is most likely a hypocrite.

So, lately I've been wondering how people see me when they 

meet me. For practically the first time in my life, my school isn't 

filled with people who have known me since my idea of stimulating 

entertainment was eating play-doh.

Forget modesty. I'll be honest. I've always been popular. 

And my image is very important to me, because I know how important 

first impressions are. But when people see me, do they see me as a 

cool individual... or some dumb cheerleader that's popular strictly 

only because she follows the crowd?

I feel like I spent all this time and energy putting myself 

together because it really matters to me that people like me. But 

sometimes I let my emotions take over, and it ruins all my hard 

work.

Like with Miguel. I really liked him. Before I actually knew 

anything about him. And when I found out that he had a girlfriend, I 

got upset and totally went off... without thinking for a second how 

I would sound or who might be listening. And now the first 

impressions I made to the most popular girl at Castleton High is 

that I'm an evil, backstabbing, boyfriend-stealing bitch.

This may be one problem a fab outfit and great hair won't 

fix.

Jessica Bennett brushed some lint particles off her the knee 

of her worn out jeans as she made her way out of the auditorium on 

Monday afternoon. Why did drama class involve the weirdest things? I 

mean come on! Acting exercises that involved "intreptating" amoeba? 

And these so-called "interpretations" always involved crawling 

around on the dusty stage floor.

She wondered if it was too soon to consider just dropping 

the class. When she was little, she had done a lot of acting, but 

she had promised herself that she would try to get back into it this 

year. If for nothing else, then to be entertained by Eric Matthews 

acting out a snake. On the floor. Just the thought made her almost 

burst out in uncontolled laughter.

Jessica glanced at her watch. Drama had surprisingly let out 

a couple minutes early, so she could probably catch Whitney coming 

out of creative writing class. She really hadn't talked to Whit much 

lately, with the exception of the school newspaper meeting. But 

Whitney's life was pretty hectic lately. Especially with tennis and 

all.

The final bell of the period rang. All around Jessica, 

crowds of students erupted into the hallways, talking and laughing 

as they walked down the hallway. She scanned the scene for a familar 

face. There were so many new kids, that she couldn't keep them all 

staight. So many people she hadn't met. The Castleton kids had only 

been there for a week, and everyone already seemed to be in a group 

or a couple. Everyone except Jessica.

Even though she was constantly putting on a school-spirit 

facade, sometimes Jessica just wished that the Castleton kids would 

just go back to where they cam from. It was all much easier to be 

social- or to pretend, at least- when she actually knew her 

schoolmates. Now she just felt lonely and empty.

But it wasn't their fault they were here. They didn't ask to 

get their school totaled by the storm. Jessica suddenly couldn't 

believe that she was being so selfish.

Maybe she was just insane to let her life revolve around 

school. After all everything that she worked so hard for could be 

turned into rubble in a matter of seconds. Maybe she should spend 

more time hangout out and meeting people- acting like a normal, 

socially functioning human being.

Jessica stationed herself off to the side of Whitney's 

classroom and someone passing through caught her eye. In fact, 

"caught" was an understatment, it was more like "demanded". Chad 

Harris, one of the new seniors and possibly the hottest guy Jessica 

had ever seen, was walking right towards her.

'Why is it I never seem to know how to look cool at moments 

like this?', Jessica wondered. Chad had lost the ratty overcoat he 

had been wearing earlier. Now he had a black crew neck shirt that 

defined his chest- well. His head was bent slightly as he walked, 

and Jessica realized it didn't matter how uncool she looked- he 

wan't going to notice her anyway.

Lucky for her, that just gave her more time to stare without 

getting caught by him. Instead of doing the wimpy girly thing (which 

was blushing and looking away), she summoned up all of her 

self-confidence and guts and gave him a tiny smile. He gave her a 

small nod as the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. And he 

walked right past her.

Jessica felt her tiny smile blossom into a full grown happy 

face. So what if he hadn't exactly fell in love at first sight with 

her? But he had noticed her. And that would have to do for now.

Maybe she should get to know some of the new seniors.

Whitney rose from her desk in slow motion as she watched 

Chad quicly walked- not glided- out the door. That guy didn't walk- 

it was as if he were floating on air...

Whitney grabbed her notbook. As she glanced at it, she 

realized that it was empty. Not a good sign. She hadn't realized 

that she had pent the entire class period staring at Chad. She knew 

there was an assignment, but she couldn't recall what it was... an 

essay on characters? Character study? Who knows?

Whitney let out a slight groan as she shuffled slowly 

towards the door so it wouldn't seem like she was trying to catch up 

with Chad.

'Making a point of not following him is almost as bad as 

actually following him, though', she pointed out to herself. ' 

Either way, your spending too much energy on this guy. This guy that 

you barely know.'

She still couldn't believe the irony of the situation. The 

first stupid crush she got on a guy all year, and somehow she had 

ended up being his roomie. Fate had some sick sense of humor.

" Whit! Over here!", she heard someone call.

Jessica was standing near the wall by her locker. She looked 

naturally gorgeous as usual. Whit looked at her in amazement. She 

looked a lot like Kay, actually, just with less makeup and less 

trendiness, or whatever. Jess was just wearing a pair of Express 

jeans with a simple long sleeved pale pink shirt, her hair tucked 

neatly behind her ears, but she still looked perfect and totally 

pulled together.

" God are you on a different planet today?", Jessica 

grinned, " I was calling your name for practically forever."

" Sorry,", Whit said hoarsly, " I'm kinda out of it. Weird 

night last night."

" I know what you mean. But listen to this. That hottie, 

Chad Harris? Just totally checked me out!", Jessica said happily.

Whitney's throat involuntarily constricted. " Oh, wow."

" Isn't he hot?", Jessica asked in a dreamy voice.

" No." Whitney said quickly. Too quickly.

" I mean, he's not really my type.", she added hastily.

" True," Jessica agreed, " he's not the hot shot tennis club 

kinda guy, is he? Have you ever talked to him?"

" Uh... actually, yeah." Whitney replied.

" You have? Spill it, now!" Jessica demanded.

Whitney hesitated. " Actually, my dad said he could stay at 

our house for a while, to help out his mom with a new job that she 

took on."

" Wait a minute. Rewind. Are you telling me that you LIVE 

with this guy?" Jessica asked, her eyes practically poping out.

" Uh huh. Can we talk about something else now?", Whitney 

asked quickly, starting to walk down the hall.

" Get out, Whit! You go girl! That's too awesome!" Jessica 

exclaimed, a wicked grin playing on her face.

" Let it go, Jess. He's just not boyfriend material." 

Whitney snapped.

" Okay, Whit. Sheesh. Don't freak on me. Give me a call 

later. Maybe we can do something tonight. Just don't think that you 

can keep him all to yourself!" Jessica said laughing, as she 

disapeared around the corner.

Whitney hugged her notebook to her chest. What if she wanted 

to keep him all to herself?

Kay was so ready for this day to be over. Ever since her 

encounter with Charity and her entourage at lunch, she'd felt like 

every guy in school was leering at her legs and every girl in school 

was sneering at them.

'Only two more classes to go.' she thought as she walked 

through the hall. In a couple of hours, she could finally go strip 

off the new pleathery miniskirt she was wearing. When she bought it, 

it had felt cool and sexy. Now it only felt dirty and slutty.

Kay turned the corner and saw a couple of Castleton girls 

she recognized from cheerleading. She gave them a small smile. As 

they walked by, Jessica heard a burst of laughter behind her. She 

whirled around and saw the two girls walking with their heads bent 

together, obviously having some sort of pathetically masked private 

conversation. One of them glanced back at Kay and not-so-subtley 

said aloud, " God, who does she think she is, wearing that slutty 

skirt? Charity was so right."

Kay felt her knees get weak, but forced herself to keep 

walking, as if she hadn't even heard them. Had Charity and the FOC's 

(Friends of Charity) launched the fashion police on her now? Maybe 

she should run to her locker and get her sweats. No, she thought, as 

she glanced at a clock on the wall. There was no time. And anyways, 

the day was almost over.

She picked up her pace, even though she wasn't exactly 

excited to go to class. Charity and the FOC's would be present and 

armed.

" Kay." 

She stopped short. She could recognize the sound of his 

voice anywhere. Kay turned around, with a disintrested look on her 

face.

" What do you want Miguel?", she asked impatiently. With 

malice. More than she felt. But she wanted to hate him. She really 

did. He well deserved it.

Miguel tenatively took a step closer to her. " I just wanted 

to tell you that... well, that--" Miguel looked up past her shoulder 

and backed up again. Kay glanced behind her shoulder and watched 

Emily slip into her classroom.

" What, Miguel?" Kay asked, feeling sure that he was about 

to take off like a jackrabbit.

Bingo. " I have to go." Miguel said quietly, looking at the 

floor. "Sorry."

His broad back hunched slightly as he retreated down the 

hall. "Me too, Miguel. Me too." Kay whispered. She glanced at her 

classroom door. 

" Because now little Emily is going to report to her leader 

and Charity will be ready to scratch my eyes out with her perfect 

manicure."

Kay walked into the classroom, feeling like a mouse in a 

room full of cats. She slipped into her usual seat by the door, 

pointedly keeping her eyes from the back of the room, where Charity 

and her people were sitting.

As soon as she sat down, she heard a nasty laugh. She felt a 

feeling of dread wash over her. This was so not good.

Frantically, she looked around. For any sign of some joke. 

Anything. A kick me sign- whatever. She just wanted to find it.

And then she saw it. And almost screamed.

Written in big letters across the blackboard were the words: 

Kay Bennett is a slut.


	9. Payback's a Bitch

Hey you all

Hey you all! I know it's been forever since I posted a chapter, but I've been really stressed out with cheerleading and gymnastics lately, plus all my schoolwork. But I managed to crank out a chapter 9 for All's fair so enjoy!! It's on the short side, but I hope you like it! Feedback is cherished and keeps me writing! 

Also, I need lots of character to fill my storylines so here is another list of extra characters that I have added one time or another that was not on my other list:

Mindy- Charity's loyal yet pathetic sidekick

Emily- Charity's other loyal yet still even MORE pathetic jr. sidekick

Josh- worker at Book Café (hottie and very nice guy)

Justin- one of Miguel's best buds

Chris- Miguel's other best friend

Ali- one of Kay's old fellow cheerleaders, now a FOC (friend of Charity)

Alex- Theresa, Ethan and Chad's friend

All's Fair in High School

Chapter 9

Kay Bennett

I have 3 words for Charity Standish: Payback's a bitch.

Kay widened her eyes at the blackboard. Okay. Enough was enough. She'd tried being nice. Tried being the bigger person. Time to fight fire with fire.

And anyways, nobody got away alive when they called her a slut. Especially some pathetic blonde wannabe- cheerleader.

Kay turned around in her desk and started right at Charity.

" What the hell is your problem?" she demanded, receiving an audible gasp from the rest of the class.

" I don't know what your talking about." Charity replied cooly, never breaking under Kay's firece glare.

" I guess little blondie's just a little jealous that she wasn't satisfying her boyfriend and that he was hitting on other girls." Kay went on.

Charity blinked, breaking her gaze from Kay's. " It's not his fault the school slut was throwing herself at him."

" I'm not a slut nor the SCHOOL SLUT. I'm Kay Bennett. I'm varsity head cheerleader. I'm ranked 3rd in my class. And to top it all off, I am a virgin. God, I really do make a lousy slut." Kay shot at Charity, with a sparkle of laughter in her eyes. At this point, most of the class was either not-so-subtly giggling or smiling widely.

" Back off, bitch!" Mindy jumped in, yelling at Kay.

" Figures. Barbie girl can't even fight her own battles." Kay said in an easy voice. She could tell that she was seriously pissing Charity off and it felt good. She had tried to be the good person too long. If there was nothing else learned from this horrible Charity encounter, it was that sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.

Charity opened her mouth to retaliate, but at that moment, the bell rang and Ms. Wallace walked into the classroom and started the class.

Kay smiled. It was so good to be back.

Whitney heard the doorbell ring and went to open the door. A sense of dread filled her as she thought of the possibliity of Jessica coming over to chat about Chad.

She opened the door and spotted 3 semi-familiar faces. " Hi! Can I help you?" she asked.

" Hey, I'm Theresa, and this is Ethan.", she said, pointed to a good-looking guy next to her "And this is Alex." She added, nudging a J-Crewish looking guy with sandy brown hair.

" Yeah, Chad told us this was his temporary place for a while." Ethan said.

" Oh. Yeah, it is. But I'm not sure where he went off to." Whitney replied.

" Hey aren't you in me and Resa's creative writing class?" Alex asked suddenly.

" Yeah! That's where I've seen you guys from before!" Whitney exclaimed.

" Yeah, mama wanted me to take that class. Speaking of mama, she wanted me to help her pick out some new furniture for the living room." Theresa said.

" I know. She made me look at catalogs with her for an hour." Ethan replied.

" I swear, you spend practically more time with mama than with me." Theresa laughed, swatting Ethan on the arm, then pulling him in for a quick kiss.

" Hanging out with you is like watching an episode of the loveboat." Alex said dryly.

" Ignore him." Theresa said to Whitney. " He's from a primitive culture that only speaks in quote-unquote wacky oneliners."

Alex shot Whitney an amused look. " Aren't you going to let us in? We're not ax murdedrers. I mean, if we were we'd tell you."

" Cut it out, Andy. We were trying to pass you off as anything but a freak." Theresa said impatiently.

" It's okay." Whitney said smiling. " Most of my closest friends are freaks."

" Hey what time is it?" Theresa asked, glancing at her watch. " We told Chad five. Do you wanna just leave him a note and take off now?" 

" Sounds like a plan." Ethan replied.

" We're just going to the book café. To talk and hang out or whatever. But your totally welcome to join us." Theresa said to Whitney.

Whitney hesitated. She really should get some work done. She could almost hear her creative writing-notebook calling her name… But Theresa and Alex certainly didn't seemed too concerned about their own assignments.

" Sure. I'd love to come." Whitney finally decided. It was time for her to break out a little and have some fun!

" God, the service here is terrible! I've been waiting for, like, 20 minutes for a cup of coffee!" Whitney complained loudly as a cute waiter approached their table.

Theresa, Ethan and Alex looked at her, obviously embarrassed. Whitney grinned.

" Funny, Whit. If you want to show everyone what superior Book Café service is, you can take my shift and I'll sit and chat with your friends." The waiter said.

" Okay, okay, I take it back." Whitney said, holding a hand up. " Don't worry, I used to work here park time with Kay." She added to Theresa, Ethan and Alex.

" Theresa, Ethan, Alex, this is Josh. Josh, this is—" Whitney started

" Theresa, Ethan and Alex." Josh finished for her. " Nice to meet you guys."

" We've never seen this girl before." Alex stage-whispered to Josh. " She just sat down with us and we were afraid to ask her to leave. She looks dangerously unstable."

" You wanna talk dangerously unstable, you should have seen her wrestling with the cappucino machine." Josh replied with a twinkle in his eye. " So, what can I get for you?"

" I'll have an iced mochachino." Theresa said. " And Ethan wants a French Roast, no sugar, extra milk and a cheese danish."

" We spend way too much time together." Angel said solemly, crooking an arm around Theresa's neck.

" Too much time with me? Not possible." Theresa joked.

" Ahem." Alex coughed.

" Hey, so Whitney. We have got to take you to the Alakai Club. It's an awesome dance club with a hawaiian-ish theme." Theresa suggested.

" Sounds great." Whitney smiled. Her Senior Year was lookin good.

Miguel rubbed a towel against the back of his wet head as he walked out of the locker room after practice on Tuesday afternoon. A cool breeze ruffled his hair, slightly soothing his fried nerves. He'd purposely showered and rushed out before anyone else had even finished stipping off their uniforms. After Kay's little proclaimation, all he wanted to do was hit the sack and maybe watch some reruns of Friends.

" Oh, man," he muttered. Charity was across the parking lot, leaning against his driver's side door with her bags on the ground next to her. She was supposed to get a ride from Mindy today, but obviously she had changed her mind and wanted to talk to him instead. There was a time when seeing her waiting for him made him feel loved. Special. Now he just felt trapped.

Charity looked up at Miguel as he approached. As she leaned over to casually kiss her cheek, she wrapped both arms around him and squeezed.

" You're here," Charity said into his chest.

" Yeah, I'm here," he responded, patting her on the back. He popped open the door of his car and threw his bag into the backseat.

" What's up?" he asked, knowing what she would say.

" I cannot believe Kay," she sniffled. " First she tries to take you away from me, and then she tries to make me look like the bad person?"

Miguel remained silent. He really didn't have anything to say to her.

" Can you just take me home? I'm really tired." Charity asked weakly, hugging herself.

" Sure." Miguel replied, grabbing her bags and putting them in his car. Miguel got in the drivers seat, feeling as if each of his arms weighed two hundred pounds.

He didn't want to be in the car with Charity right now. Just the thought of it was suffocating. He'd become nothing more than a shoulder for her to cry on, and he wasn't even sure that he even wanted to be that for her anymore.

Charity knocked on the window and Miguel reached over to pop the lock. She climbed in and smiled at him warmly.

Miguel tried to smile back. But as he pulled out of the parking lot, one thought pressed into his mind with intense clarity.

If this was how their relationship was going to be, then he wanted out. And sooner or later, he would have to tell her.


	10. That Sinking Feeling

All's Fair in High School Ch.10

Charity sat at the counter at the book café, sipping a skim latte, hoping she didn't look too much like a loser. She glanced at the clock for the millionth time in the last ten minutes. Miguel was over half an hour late already.

He was avoiding her. She knew it. Her nerves were fried, but she smiled at Beth as she walked past her. After Kay's pathetic little display, Miguel had been distant. He usually kept his arm around her, or held her hand. Constant contact. But today he'd barely touched her. God, you'd think she had freakin leperecy from the way he was treating her. 

" Hey Charity, can I get you anything else?" Beth asked, surprising Charity.

" Uh, no, thanks Beth. I'm just waiting for Miguel. He should be here any minute." Charity responded sweetly. "Unless he's standing me up." She muttered.

"Who would stand up a beautiful girl?" Beth asked, causing Charity to smile.

She was right. Charity was being silly. What if something had happened to Miguel? What if he had gotten into a car accident or something?

She grabbed her purse and took out her cell phone, dialing Miguel's number.

" Hello?" Pilar answered.

" Hi, Pilar. It's Charity." Charity said.

" Hello, sweetheart. I'm afraid Miguel's not here right now." Pilar explained.

" Oh, is he on his way to meet me then?" Charity asked, a smile creeping onto her pretty porclaine features.

" Uh, I do not believe so, Chairty. He said something about going to the Justin's to play some basketball."

" Oh. Maybe I got the times mixed up, then." Charity said embarrassed, trying to save face.

" You could try calling him at Justin's house." Pilar suggested, " I have the number."

" No, that's okay, Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald. I know it." Charity said.

" Goodbye Charity." Pilar responded before she hung up.

Charity hung up, her heart racing. She knew she didn't have the time wrong. She and Miguel made these plans only a few hours ago. Had he forgotten? He certainly couldn't have left her sitting there purposely!

She picked her phone again and dialed up Justin's number.

Several rings went by. " Lo?" Justin picked up, obviously out of breath.

" Justin, it's Charity. Can I talk to Miguel?" she asked.

" Miguel?" Justin tried to catch his breath. " Miguel's not here."

Charity's heart skipped a beat. " Yes he is. His mom told me that he was going over there to play basketball with you guys."

" Well he was—" Justin started. He covered the phone with his hand and Charity could hear some muffled speaking in the background.

" Hello?" Miguel picked up, panting.

" Miguel?" 

" Char? What's up?" he asked, trying to catch his breath.

" Justin just told me you weren't there," Charity said.

" I just got here." Miguel said stiffly.

Charity's heart started to pound. "You just got there? It doesn't sound like that. Your out of breath, so obviously you were playing—" 

" I just got here and ran inside." Miguel interrupted.

"Whatever." Charity snapped. " Did you forget that you were supposed to meet me at the Book Café forty-five minutes ago?"

" God Char, I'm sorry." Miguel said, too quickly. " I forgot."

Charity took a deep breath. " Can you just come here now?"

She heard laughter explode in the background on Miguel's end of the phone. She felt her face heat up. 

"Will you guys shut up?" Charity heard Miguel hiss, holding the phone away from his mouth. Then he was back. " I'm sorry, Char. I promised the guys."

Charity felt the tears spring to her eyes. " You promised me."

" I know. I'll call you later, okay?" he asked.

He really wasn't coming. " Migu—"

" Okay?" he asked a little louder.

" Fine." She snapped, hanging up on him. Charity's heart was racing. She pushed through the bathroom door and walked over to one of the porcelin sinks by the wall. She gripped the edges of it, staring at mirror, willing herself to calm down.

" He didn't just do that to me." She whispered. " There's no way he just stood me up, lied and blew me off." She took a few deep breaths and told herself just to wait until later, when they could talk. There was no point in getting herself all worked up when there could be nothing to worry about. As she rationalized, her anger subsided.

Unfortunantly, it left behind a sinking feeling.

Chad looked at the note left for him. So now Whitney was hanging out with his friends? Well, at least she was out of his face, and that was a first. He still couldn't believe that he was stuck living with her, of all people.

He looked around the room and noticed that his answering machine had the red light blinking. He walked over to it and played the message.

" Chad? This is Dave." His music teacher's voice said. " Listen, dude, I just got a gig. My band is going to be playing at the Waterworks place Friday night. I can supply you with all the tickets and backstage passes you need. Let me know, man. Later."

This was unbelievable. Dave actually got a gig. This was going to be amazing.

"She's such a loser." Mindy said, bringing her black coffee mug to her lips. " She thinks just because she has an older boyfriend, she's way cool. I heard that Ethan couldn't go to college because his father refused to pay for his tuition, now that he's with Theresa. "

" That's not true." Miguel said, shifting in his seat.

" What?" Mindy snapped.

Will took a deep breath and told himself not to rip off Mindy's smug

Little face off. This was not his idea of a fun way to spend a Friday night before a game, but he had promised he'd spend time with Charity after bailing out on her. Now he was trapped at the Book Café with Charity and her obnoxious little friends.

" Anyways, like I was saying…" Miguel blocked out Mindy's whiny voice from his head.

Miguel leaned back in his chair and stared at the door. The guys were having a mini- psych up session at Todd's. They were probably scarfing Tabo Bell's and playing video hockey and going over that afternoon's practice. Roseville was one of Harmony's biggest rivals. Miguel would buy the whole café a round of coffee if it would get him out of there.

" Miguel? Will you get me another latte?" charity asked.

Now he was errand boy? Miguel took a deep breath. He was overreacting because of all the tension he had felt around Charity lately. But it was just a phase. It would wass. All relationships went through this.

" Are you sure? Don't you want to sleep tonight?" he asked.

Charity smiled. " Your right."

Emily smirked at Miguel. " How about a decaf Char?"

" Yeah. How about a decaf?" Charity repeated.

Miguel pushed back his chair abruptly and stood. " Can I get anyone else anything?" 

" No, thanks!" Mindy and Emily called in unison.

Miguel walked over to the counter and pulled out his wallet. Maybe he should tell the girls that their teeth were turning yellow. They were all too vain to ignore something like that.

" Hey man." He looked up to see Josh Carter, the captain of the Roseville Raiders standing behind the counter, wearing a green apron.

" Hey." Miguel only knew Josh by reputation, but he pretty sure that Josh knew who he was, too.

" Shouldn't you be psyching yourself up for tomorrow? You know, at least pretend you had a chance?" Josh asked with a good-natured laugh.

" Seriously. I shouldbe hanging out with the guys right now." Miguel answered wistfully.

" I know what you mean. If I had a choice, I would not be here. There's some pretty decent parties going on right now." Josh added.

" Yeah. You're right." Miguel said, straightening. The guy might be the enemy at the moment, but he had a point. Miguel should be with the team, getting pumped up for tommorrow, not sitting in some lame café sipping coffee.

Miguel ordered a latte and pocketed the change. " Later," he called to Josh, " Good luck tomorrow. Be sure to bring lots of body bags."

" For you to borrow, right?" Josh shot back, smiling.

Miguel walked back to the table and handed the latte to Charity. He grabbed his coat from his chair.

" What are you doing?" Charity hissed. " You're just gonna leave?"

" The guys are gonna be pissed if I don't show." Miguel said, his patience wearing down.

Charity remained silent. Miguel almost walked out. He didn't really know what he was waiting for.

Suddenly Charity's lip trembled. " You're right. Maybe hanging out with the guys will help you for the game tomorrow."

" Thanks so much, Char." Miguel said, practically running towards door.

" And we can spend time together tomorrow." Charity said smiling.

" Sure, Char. Whatever." Miguel said, walking out the door.

He had just gotten in his car when he realized that he had forgotten to kiss Charity goodbye.

Miguel Lopez- Fitzgerald

I usually don't stand people up, so ever since I left Charity sitting alone at the book café, I've started to wonder why I did it. Because I knew it was wrong even while I was doing it. So how could I be such a jerk? Well it just hit me so here it is:

Lately when I'm with Charity, I feel like I'm suffocating.

I always thought that was an expression—that people who said stuff like that were just exaggerating. I thought it was impossible to be in love with someone and feel like you were closed in—gasping for air. Because if you love someone, you want to be with them. You don't feel like you HAVE to be with them. You don't feel like they're your responsibility.

The thing is, I've always sort of felt like Charity was my responsibility. Part of our relationship was me taking care of her—watching out for her. It's only lately that I've felt… trapped. And it's not a feeling I like.


	11. Pretty Entertaining

  
  
Hey!! This is just a short lil one I had to write before the next   
chapter. It's all about the tryouts... Enjoy!  
  
All's Fair In High School Ch.11  
  
Charity glanced at the hopeful-cheerleaders huddled in the   
little group next to her. As if they even had a chance. Today was   
the big tryout day, and she couldn't wait to see Kay Bennett royally   
screw up her dance.  
" Hey Mindy? Did you do it?" she whispered quietly to her   
friend.  
" Yeah. Let's just say Kay's music will be... off beat!"   
Mindy said, laughing loudly.  
" Mindy!" Charity hissed. " Chill out, will you?"  
" Sorry, Char. I'm just psyched to see Little Miss   
I-Think-I-Rule-the-World trip on her scrawny face." Mindy said,   
giving a helpless shrug.  
Charity smiled. It would be pretty entertaining.  
  
  
  
Kay tossed her tryout music tape in the box with the others.   
She had spent all last night trying to pick out a song, but today it   
didn't seem right anymore. She called out to Theresa, who was also   
trying out.  
" Hey T! Wanna share music with me?" she asked the pretty   
hispanic girl.  
" Sure Kay." Theresa responded with a smile. It was really   
nice of Theresa to do this. Kay didn't even know her that well.  
" Kay, you can share with me." Simone said quietly,   
magically appearing as if from nowhere, right next to Kay.  
" Get a life Simone." Kay snapped, walking away from her   
ex-best friend. She knew everything that had happened between   
Simone, Ali and Charity and Kay wasn't even slightly close to   
forgiving either of them yet.  
  
  
Charity heard her, Mindy and Em get called by Coach Jenn   
Charity was beyond excited. It was finally their turn. Her turn to   
strut her hot stuff. But Mindy was staring at her.  
" Mindy! What's your problem? Put in the music." she hissed   
at Mindy.  
" Uh, Char? You have the tape." Mindy said slowly.  
" Oh God." Charity groaned. In all the excitement and   
confusion of setting KAy up, she had somehow forgotten to bring her   
own music.  
Emily looked upset. She had no idea about Charity's plan to   
set up Kay. " God, you guys are so irresponsible!" she exclaimed.   
Emily grabbed a tape from the tryout box and popped it into the tape   
player. " No one will care if we borrow their tape." she continued,   
playing it.  
The music started, but something wasn't right. The music was   
awful, squeaky and.... strangely familiar.  
Charity and Mindy stared at eachother. " It's Kay's tape!"   
they exclaimed in unison.  
And the judge just stared at the three of them with   
amazement, as Charity and Mindy stared at eachother in humiliation   
and Emily looked at them both with a confused look on her face.  
  
Kay and Theresa started their counts for their dance.  
" And 5, 6, 7, 8", Kay chanted.  
They both did great, showing their strength with grace as   
they flawlessly performed the dance.  
Coach Jenn awarded Theresa with a smile, and gave Kay the   
knowing, respectful look that Kay always got from her.  
Kay smiled. It was nice to be on top again.  
  
  
  
Coach Jenn's Notes  
  
Kay- definantly in (probably captainship again), sharp arms, great   
facials, awesome jumps and great spirit  
  
Charity- didn't do so hot, but she's good- I've seen her flawless   
skills at practice  
  
Simone- don't like her attitude lately, but has great basing skills,   
as well as good motions  
  
Ali- good spirit, needs works on jumps and motions  
  
Mindy- very good, as seen from practices, not so hot tryout, but   
still...  
  
Emily- This one is good; seems responsible, has nothing to do with   
tape problem. Her facials and jumps are fantastic, motions a bit off  
  
Kari- newie; but very good jumps and tumbling skills, motions are in   
need of help  
  
Theresa- great spirit and motions, ok jumps  
  
Well, these girls are the better of the tryout-ee's. I guess this   
will have to do for the new varsity football squad.  
  
  



	12. An Amazing Victory

Kay glanced in the mirror

Chad strolled into the book café. He easily spotted Theresa flagging him down.

" Hey there." Theresa greeted him.

" Chad." Ethan gave him a nod.

" My MAN," Alex stood up and gave Chad a bad impression of what looked to be a ghetto handshake.

" Hi." Whitney said casually.

" Hey, all." Chad replied. " I've got some good news. Dave got a gig."

" Really? That's amazing!" Theresa squealed.

" And free tickets and backstage passes for everyone." Chad announced.

" We're all in." Theresa said, without consulting any of her friends.

" We are?" Whitney asked with laughter behind her eyes.

" Yes. We are." Theresa replied firmly.

Charity pressed the play button on her answering machine.

" Char? It's me." Miguel's voice said.

" Where are you? I—I thought you'd be here, at Justin's party." He went on, sounding unsure of himself.

" Maybe you'd know, if you hadn't ditched me." Charity muttered. She'd only gone over to Mindy's to hang out, but still.

" Listen. We need to talk. I mean, I—I really need to talk to you. About some important stuff." Miguel said, his voice breaking.

" Meet me in the parking lot after the game, okay? Bye Char." Miguel said before hanging up.

Charity wasn't stupid. She knew what " We have to talk" meant. 

" What's it going to be, Miguel? Me or Kay?", she whispered, dreading the answer.

Kay glanced in the mirror. She had just changed into her cheerleading outfit, but something seemed different. Somehow, she wasn't her usual virbrant, hyper self. This whole Miguel-Charity thing had really shaken her up. More than she'd ever let on to her friends.

She wasn't the carefree, everything's gonna be alright girl she used to be. She was more guarded. Cautious.

Still, she was a cheerleader, and part of the job was to play the peppy part. She walked over to her CD player and popped in her Jock Jams CD. This would definantly psych her up.

The tryout had gone really well, but unfortunantly, Charity, Emily and Mindy had also made it. And today was the first game, and Coach Jenn said that she would be announcing captain today. Normally, butterflies would be fluttering away in Kay's stomach while she tried to psych herself up. But today was different. Almost as if she didn't care.

Her phone rang, but it took her a few rings to realize it, over her loud music.

" Hello?" she practically yelled, over the music.

" Hi. Uh, is Kay there?" said an unfamiliar male voice.

" This is. Who's this?" she said, as she turned down her CD player.

" It's Miguel." He answered.

Kay dropped the phone. Her jaw hung for a split second before she snatched it up again, her tone suddenly ice cold.

" Yes?" she asked, flinching at her cold tone.

" I just wanted to call and see if you were okay. And to tell you I'm sorry." Miguel said quickly.

" Oh, excuse me. I don't exactly know what you mean," Kay said sarcastically. " Did you mean not telling me you had a girlfriend? Or kissing me? Or was it the part where you told your precious little Charity that I hit on you and tried to steal you away from her?"

" Kay—" Miguel started.

" Listen, MIGUEL, you can take your little sorry butt back to your precious little girlfriend. I don't want your pity or apology. Which is, by the way, somewhat pathetic because you don't have the nerve to tell me face to face. Later." Kay rambled on, finally hanging up on Miguel.

Whoa. Kay was quite an actress. She hadn't been THAT angry at him. But there would be plenty of time to think about their strange conversation. And she would. As soon as she caught her breath.

Charity looked over at Mindy. The girl shook her head.

" Damn. Where is she?" Charity muttered.

Coach Jenn had promised to announce captain at the game today. And Charity could feel the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. She wanted this so much. She NEEDED this so much.

" Do you think when Coach Jenn said she was announcing captain today, she meant before or after the game?" Charity asked Emily, who was stretching beside her.

" It's got to be before. Any longer would be cruel and unusual punishment." Emily responded, trying to lighten up Charity's worried and nervous mood.

Mindy suddenly came running to them. "She's coming. You guys. Act like your stretching out."

" We ARE stretching out." Emily pointed out.

" Whatever." Charity snapped.

Emily and Mindy exchanged a Look.

" Don't worry Char. You've got to get it. Anyways, Kay isn't even that good." Mindy said soothingly.

" She is that good." Charity said. It way never wise to underestimate the competition.

" Girls! I have an announcement." Coach Jenn called, standing about 10 feet away from Charity. The whole squad gathered around her and settled down.

" Well, I'm sure everyone's anxious to hear who the new captain is." Coach Jenn said. " It was a hard decision, but I think it was a good one."

" Your new captain is Kay Bennett." Coach Jenn said brightly.

Charity's insides hit the ground. She had no idea what to do or say. She glanced over to see Kay's beaming face, Theresa and Simone congratulating her.

She felt Mindy take her hand and squeeze it, but Charity couldn't even find the energy to squeeze back.

Charity Standish

I don't get how this could have happened. I had it all planned out. Miguel is the captain of the football team. And I should have been the CAPTAIN of the cheerleading squad. Simple. No, not anymore. Things are anything but simple.

Kay heard the buzzer sound, marking the end of the game, and more importantly, an amzing victory for the Harmony Hellcats. As much as she hated to admit it, Miguel had played an awesome game today.

Now she just had to deal with the squad.

Miguel impatiently looked around the parking lot. Charity should have gotten out by now. The cheerleaders always got out before the player, even if he had practically showered in 2 seconds.

This was it. He was finally going to end their relationship. He didn't want anything to happen like it did the last time, way back in eigth grade…

He walked back toward the school. There were voices coming from the gym.

He glanced inside the gym to see Charity sitting on one of the swestling mats, bent over at the waist, crying. She was being comforted by Mindy, Emily, Simone and Ali.

He was just about to turn and leave when Mindy spotted him.

" Come on in, Miguel." Mindy said in a sad voice.

Miguel gave an inward groan, but he walked to and put an arm around Charity.

He couldn't do it now. Not when she was crying, and so disapointed.

" Kay made captain." She said as she was crying. " It's not fair."

" It's okay, Char. It's okay." He said in a soothing voice, patting her back. " I'm not going anywhere."


	13. How Pathetic

Sorry it's been a while you guys!! Here's a Charity chapter, it has a lot to do with her. Lots of important things happen in this chapter, so I hope you like it! Feedback is cherished and keeps me writing! If you want, email me at roxygirl919@hotmail.com !! Love, Claire  
  
  
All's Fair in High School Chapter 13  
  
Charity reached over and opened a new box of tissues. She had been crying all night, and hadn't gotten a wink of sleep all night long.  
Her phone rang. " Hello?"   
" It's Miguel." His voice said coldly.  
" Miguel? Are you okay?" Charity asked, even though he should actually be asking HER that.  
" Meet me at the Book Café in fifteen minutes, okay?" Miguel said. There was something behind his voice. Anxiousness, fear, anger, resentment, something that usually wasn't there.  
" Okay." Charity said, letting the fear leak into her voice.  
He hung up without another word.  
  
  
Whitney lost herself in the band. Chad's music teacher was good, all right. He was really talented.  
" Whoa, David's really good." Whitney whispered to Chad.  
He just nodded quickly, turning his attention back to David.  
Theresa tapped Whitney on the shoulder. " I'm gonna go grab a diet something. Want anything?"  
"Actually, I think I'll join you." Whitney smiled at the outgoing girl.  
" So, what's going on between you and Chad? Are you guys, like, a thing now, or what?" Theresa asked excitedly as soon as they were an earshot away from Chad and Ethan.  
" No! Of course not! I mean... I...." Whitney stuttered.  
" See I knew it! It was fate!" Theresa said.  
" There is no such thing as Fate, Theresa." Whitney said, rolling her eyes.  
Theresa's eyes widened. " How can you say such a pessimistic thing? Of course fate exists!Things are meant to be! Ethan and I are meant to be, FATE said so. I love FATE! Fate fate fate fate fate!!"  
" If you say fate one more time, I swear I will get some duct tape and tape your mouth shut FOREVER!" Whitney exclaimed, her dark eyes shining.  
" Fine. I won't say it. But you know what I'm thinking!" Theresa said in a sing-songy voice.  
Whitney sighed. This girl was hopeless.  
  
(Those 2 lines are from the show, but I had to stick them in, I love them!!)  
  
  
Charity nervously tapped her foot under the table. She had been sitting here with Miguel for almost five minutes, and it had been complete silence most of the time.  
" Charity. There's something I need to tell you." Miguel said sofly, looking down at his hand, " I need some space. A break from us."  
Charity didn't move. No reaction. Not good.  
As her eyes started to cloud over and narrow, she said, " It's Kay, isn't it?"  
And Miguel's silence told her she was right.  
  
  
" Fine." Charity heard herself respond. She almost flinched. Her voice was so cold, so horrible.  
Without another word, she got up and walked out the door.  
As she drove home, she broke into tears. Her Miguel had left her. Her Miguel. He was her rock, her stability.  
Everything was falling apart, and it just seemed like there was nothing she old do to make it stop. Make it stop...  
It was so familiar, that day back in eighth grade. She had tried then, too. But she had been rushed. She hadn't been careful, and that's what had gone wrong. She had left a couple of the pills in her robe pocket, and she had dropped a few on the bathroom floor. But that wouldn't happen again...  
  
  
Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald  
  
I don't like it. I would have rather she cried. Or thrown a tantrum. But I hate it that she didn't react at all. I don't know what going on in her mind. And for that, I'm terrified. My mind keeps flashing back to that horrible day in eighth grade when Charity...  
And I'm afraid it will happen again.  
  
  
Charity screeched the tires as she drove into the garage.  
" Charity Standish! What do you think your doing?" Faith came out and yelled.  
" Go away, Mom." Charity said, pushing past her upset mother.  
" Charity! Come back this instant! I want to know what's got your driving MY care like a maniac!" Faith yelled.  
" Do you really, Mother?" Charity asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.  
" Well. Let me enlighten you. Miguel just broke up with me." Charity spilled.  
" Oh Charity." Faith's voice filled with sorrow.  
Charity's heart leaped. Would her Mom finally listen to her? Would she finally be able to understand what Charity was going through?  
" What did you do this time?" Faith added.  
Charity's heart hit the ground. She should have known better. She shouldn't have let herself get her hopes up. Fighting back more tears, she pushed past her mom and headed straight up to her room.  
She waited until her mom left. Maybe to one of her friend's houses. Maybe to a bar. Anywhere but here....  
Charity went to her Mom's room and opened her underwear drawer. There were the sleeping pills. How pathetic. After the last time, any real parent would have tried other things to get to sleep. Tried warm milk or counting sheep.  
But no her mom. Her mom never changed for anyone. Ever.  
Charity lined up the little green and yellow pills. There were 24 of them in all. She could just shove them in her mouth and get it over with.  
No. Last time she had been careless, and that's why it didn't work. This time she had to take them all.  
She imagined her mom finding her the next morning, passed out in the bathroom. Yelling about how ungrateful Charity was.  
Charity popped one of the pills into her mouth and swallowed it down with a small gulp of water.  
" You'll never forget me, Miguel. Never." She whispered before popping another one of the pills.  
  
  
Charity Standish  
  
Dear Miguel,   
I hope you and Kay are happy.  
  
Dear Miguel,  
I'm sorry to be an inconvience to you.  
  
Dear Miguel,  
I love you. I love you so much  
  
Dear Miguel,  
How could you leave me like that?  
  
Dear Mom,  
I wish I could have been the girl you always wanted.  
  
Dear Miguel,  
  
  
  
Oh, forget it.  
  
  
  
Kay looked at the address in her hand. Yup. This was Charity's house all right.  
Kay walked up the sidewalk and paused at the door. She had to do this. She had to straighten things out with Charity. She'd felt so much better after yelling at Miguel. If she finally cleared the air with Charity, it might just make everyone's life a little more simpler.  
She reached up to knock on the door, but just as she did, the door swung open.  
" Miguel?" She asked in shock. What was he doing here?  
" What do you want Kay?" he asked, his voice tired and weary.  
" What the hell is going on Miguel?" Kay asked, her own voice worried. Something was not right. Something was just really not right.  
" Who's at the door, Miguel?" a tired voice asked. Not Charity. Actually, it sounded a lot like her mom's.  
" No one, Mrs. Standish." Miguel said hurriedly. " Just a friend of Charity's."  
" A friend?" Kay almost laughed.  
Miguel stepped out of the house and shut the door quietly behind him. " Shut up Kay."  
" What's your damage, Miguel?" Kay asked.  
" Well, not that it's any of your damn business, but Charity's in the hospital. She tried to commit suicide last night." Miguel said harshly.  
And at that moment, the front door swung open and Faith Standish walked out.  
Kay's eyes widened, and a moment later, she fainted.  



	14. White Roses

All's Fair in High School Ch

All's Fair in High School Ch.14

" Kay, she…"

" I'm so worried about…"

" Did you hear what Charity…"

Little bits of conversation floated through Kay's mind. She tried to block them out, but they wouldn't stop invading her dream.

She suddenly started to feel like she was falling and tried to sit up quickly. Her vision was blurry as she suddenly started to get dizzy.

" Kay! Your awake!" Jessica exclaimed, jumping up to give her old sister a hug.

" Easy, Jessica.", Sam said cautiously.

Kay finally took a look around her and realized that she was at the Harmony hospital.

" Whoa. My head's pounding like crazy. What happened?" Kay said slowly.

" You passed out on Charity Standish's front step and hit your head." Jessica helped.

" You would have been in much worse condition if a certain hansome stranger hadn't brought you into the hospital." Grace said suggestively, a smile playing on her lips.

" Miguel? He brought me in?"Kay asked incrediously. She would have expected him to leave her there or something. He obviously blamed her for Charity's little ordeal. It wasn't her fault that Charity had gone all mental.

'Stop it.' Kay scolded herself. She was done with all the bitchiness. Charity commiting suicide was nothing to joke around with. The girl obviously had some serious issues and needed help. She hadn't helped matters any. In fact, she had probably made things worse.

What if… no that's crazy. It wasn't her fault that Charity attempted to end her life. Or was it? Had Kay, without realizing, pushed her off the edge? Kay didn't like Charity, for obvious reasons, but she didn't want to hurt her. Not physically. That girl really did deserve some punishment for the horrible things she had done to Kay.

The image of the woman at Charity's house flashed through her mind. That woman had looked exactly like her mother. Was it possible that she and her arch-enemy were actually related?

Kay groaned. She could already feel another headache coming her way.

Miguel paced back and forth through the hospital waiting room. He looked at the heavy wooden door, again. Shaking his head, he started pacing back and forth through the waiting room again.

He couldn't go in. Charity was in there, waiting for him. But he wasn't sure how he would react to seeing her. And Charity would definantly be watching him closely, taking all sorts of means from his gestures, expressions, words… well, practically everything.

Miguel stopped again, and glanced down at his hands. His knuckles were white from gripping the flowers so tightly.

This seemed like so many other, more familiar times. All the times he had stood outside her house with flowers for her- dates, proms, anniversaries, and apologies. Now here he was again, nervously shuffling his feet outside her door. Only this time, instead of a to-die-for dress, she was wearing a white hospital gown.

Hw looked at the flowers again. White roses. It had taken him forever to pick them out. He was pretty sure that the florist was pretty irritated with the way he couldn't make up his mind. Red roses were too " I love you", pink was too cheerful. And he was pretty sure that everyone sent yellow roses to funerals. White seemed like the only option. Empty, meaningless, bland. Just like the way he felt. And then there was the whole matter of the card. He had spent over 2 hours trying to figure out what to write.

What do you say to a girl who tried to kill herself when you broke up with her?

Miguel took a deep breath, and opened the door. There she was. But, to Miguel's relief, she was fast asleep. Her skin was pale and her lips were chapped and raw.

He set the flowers down on the table next to her bed. His mind started wandering again. Things had been out of control for so long, he couldn't even remember what normal felt like anymore. The storm. His inability to resist Kay Bennett. Their breakup. And now this.

Miguel stood up, and took one more glance at Charity. Fuuny. He had forgotten how small she was. She always had projected the illusion of being bigger. Stronger. Except when she needed to be frail.

He leaned over and lightly kissed her forehead.

" Bye, Charity." He whispered.

"Goodbye" was the only word he had for her.

"The music's awesome, Chad," Theresa whispered.

Chad only nodded, too into the music to really pay attention to what his best friend had to say.

They were listening to Dave (Chad's music teacher) play his awesome music. Dave and his band were having their first official concert. Theresa was glad that everyone was there, it gave them all a great chance to chill out and get to know eachother better. She glanced at Jessica, who had not seemingly taken her eyes off of Chad all night long.

As soon as the set was over, Chad stood up. " I'm going to run and get something to eat. Want anything, Whit?"

" Sure. Acutally, I think I'll some with you." Whitney said.

The two got up and right before they walked out the door, Theresa yelled, " And you can get me a large Sprite, please!"

Chad lifted his hand in response.

" So, are you enjoying the show?" Whitney asked.

" Yeah, it's great. Dave is really awesome." Chad replied.

Chad grabbed his keys, then fumbled with them a little before finally dropping them on the floor.

At that exact same moment, they both reached for the keys. Before Whitney realized what was happening, only a few inches of empty space seperated them.

Whitney was very aware of how fast her heart was beating. She closed her eyes, and waited for the delicious moment she knew was coming.

Just as she thought he was going to kiss her, he pulled away from her.

" Sorry," he whispered, his voice trembling slightly.

Whitney just nodded. She didn't trust herself to say something normal with her heart still beating that fast.

Kay glanced at her watch. Jessica had begged and pleaded her to take her shift so that Jess could go to some concert. Now, thanks to having to help her mom at the B&B, she was going to be late.

She yelled a Thank You to her mom, who dropped her off. Luckily, it was nearly empty, but that wouldn't last long.

She ran into the backroom and grabbed an apron. She turned around and nearly crashed into a guy with green eyes.

She did a double take. Gorgeous, green, twinkling eyes.

" Bennett, get out there. First I have to deal with your clumsy sister, and now I'm stuck with Ms. I've-Never-Heard-of-a-watch-before?" he joked.

" Luckily, Beth's not here to yell at you. Well, at least not yet. She's argueing with the delivery guy outside. You might want to be on your toes. She's in one of her moods tonight."

Kay smiled at the cute stranger, searching her mind for his name. She was drawing a blank, but wasn't it J something? Justin? Jeff?

A lightbulb finally went on in her head.

" Thanks for the warning, Jeremy."

" So basically, biscotti and snones are basically the same thing." Josh explained to Kay.

" No. I'm sorry, Jeremy. I can't agree with you there." Kay said, rolling her eyes.

Josh had to turn around to hide his laughter from her. He couldn't believe that she had gotten his name wrong. He wanted to correct her, but it was just too funny.

" Think about it. They're both overpriced pieces of bread, washed down with some overpriced hot drink." Josh tried.

" Well I can give you that, but that's about where the similarities end." Kay said. "One is sweet and fruity, the other is hard and chocolately."

Josh looked into her eyes. She was extremely beautiful. Her chocolate brown eyes melted into him, as her brown hair was carelessly tied into a low messy bun, she looked like the girl next door.

The gorgeous girl next door, anyways.

Two hours later, the book café was extremely busy. Kay's head was practically spinning, and she couldn't keep all the orders straight.

" Kay! Can you run and get another bag of milk in the back?" Beth yelled over the loud customers.

Kay turned and headed into the back room. She opened the refrigerator and carefully removed one the the heavy bags of milk. Turning back, she reached out to open the door.

At that moment, the door swung open, and Jeremy's voice said, " Kay? Do you need any help?"

He looked down and saw a milk cover Kay sitting on the ground. A laugh escaped his lips, but he quickly tried to cover it up with a cough.

" Are you alright?" he asked, still smirking.

Suddenly, his foot slipped and he fell into the splattered milk.

" Are YOU alright?" Kay asked, her eyes obviously watering from trying not to laugh.

The door swung open again and Beth stormed in. " what are you doing? Do you know how much this milk costs? You're both done for the night!"

" But you need us." Jeremy reasoned. " It's crazy out there."

" Not looking like that I don't", Beth snapped.

Kay met Jeremy's eyes. Had she just lost Jessica's job?

Kay walked slowly out the door.with Jeremy.

" Well, Kay, I had a lot of fun. It was one of my more memorable shifts." Jeremy said.

" Mine, too." Kay laughed.

" Kay, uh, there's something you should know." Jeremy began.

" Uh oh. That doesn't sound too promising, now, does it?" Kay teased.

" I'm not Jeremy. My name is Josh." He said, staring straight into her wonderful eyes.

Kay's jaw dropped slightly before she snapped it back up. " Are you serious? I'm so sorry. Josh."

" It's nice to hear you say my name." Josh said, smiling.

" Well, JOSH, would you do me the honor of giving me a lift home?" Kay asked hopefully.

" No prob. Just buckle up and keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times." Josh said, jokingly.

I know what you're thinkin, not another guy. Oh well, you'll live!! Stay tuned… Chapter 15 will be up mid next week. Sorry, it would be sooner, but I have camp until Wednesday.


	15. Semi-Forgettable

Hey

Hey! Sorry it took me so incredibly long to get this chapter out! Hope you like it!

All's Fair in High School 

Chapter 15

Josh picked up his cordless phone, punched in two numbers, and placed it back on the base.

" You can do this," he said to himself. " Just ask her."

After giving countless pep talks to his football team, Josh had learned the value of a personal go-get-'em speech. It was a great way to combat fear and almost always worked. Almost always.

" Go for it," he continued. " You've done it before, this is no different."

Actually, it was different. This was Kay.

Kay Bennett. He saw be beautiful dancing chocolate eyes, her playful, pouty mouth, her smooth, tan skin, all framed by her shiny brown hair.

She was something special. And she deserved something unforgettable. Unfortunantly, he couldn't afford unforgettable. His wallet could handle probably something more… semi-forgettable. 

Suddenly, an idea hit him and he picked up the phone.

Kay was digging through her closet. She had no idea that she actually owned this much clothing.

Suddenly the phone rang, and she ran to pick it up.

" Hello!" she sang into the phone.

" Kay?" a deep, male voice asked.

" Mig—Josh?" she quickly corrected herself.

" Yeah." He answered.

" Oh. Hey! What's up?" she asked brightly.

" Not much. But I was kinda wondering." Josh hesitated.

" Yeah?" Kay prompted.

" I—I wanted to see if you had any plans for tomorrow night?" Josh asked, gripping the phone so tightly, his knuckles were turning white.

" Well, I have cheerleading until four-thirty. But after that I'm free. Why?" A playful tone returned to Kay's voice.

" Well, I was wondering if you'd like to… go out. With me." Josh let the words tumble free.

" Sounds great! Where to?"

Josh's heart jumped. " I can't tell you. It's a surprise."

" A surprise?" Kay's pitch rose excitedly. " Can I have a hint?"

" Well… it's bigger than a bread box."

" Gee, thanks," she said sarcastically. " At least give me a clue as to the location."

" It's definantly on this planet. In Maine, to be more precise." Josh leaned back in his chair.

Kay sighed loudly. " You realize that I'm going to get no sleep at all tonight. Thanks you very much."

" You're welcome," Josh said. He wasn't going to give an inch.

" Well… okay. I'll see you tomorrow." She said reluctantly.

" See you then," Josh said.

They said their good-byes and hung up. Josh felt like flying. The surprise thing definantly had Kay excited.

Now all he had to do was live up to his own hype.

As soon as she parked the car and approached the school on Monday morning, Kay could tell things were different. Instead of the lazy, procrastinated typical students returning after a fun-filled weekend, everyone stood buzzing about the neat little clustering all over the school's front lawn.

Even before the first high pitched whispers reached her ears, Kay knew the topic of everyone's gossip. Obviously. News of Charity's suicide attempt had already made the rounds.

As she headed down to the front sidewalk, Kay could pick up small fragments of different conversations like a slowly turning dial.

" I heard it was Valium."

" No, Xanax."

" Did she leave a note?"

" First she didn't make cheerleading captain. Then Miguel…"

Miguel! Kay felt her throat constrict. She remembered the haggard look on Miguel's face at Charity's house yesterday and wondered if he could show up at school.

She tried to shake the image of his face out of her mind, but it would leave. Just that thought of him stuck in her mind.

Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald

If I hear one more person tell me they're sorry, I'm going to scream. I will litterally run into the street, shouting the worst curse words I can think of.

All I've heard today from the kids, teachers, even guys on the team, is that they are all "so sorry to hear about what happened to Charity."

They're not sorry. The whole situation is sorry. I'M sorry. In fact, I'm probably the sorriest jerk in the world.

Sorry doesn't get anyone anywhere.

Kay raced her car up the driveway, hopped out, and glanced at her watch. Only fourteen minutes after 6. She had plently of time to get ready for her date with Josh.

What were they going to do? The possibilities were making Kay nervous. On one hand, she like surprises. They kept you on your toes. But what if she totally wore the wrong outfit…

" Oh, Kay. You're home." Grace said, trying to place her hand on Kay's bouncing shoulder. " Josh just called."

" Really?" Kay stopped short. " What did her say?"

" He said you should meet him at 7 o'clock at 2007 Isabelle Avenue." Grace replied, smiling.

Ah, the adventure begins, Kay thought, revving up again. " Was that it?" she asked her mother.

" Yes, that was all." Grace said, smiling again.

" Thanks, Mom," Kay said, racing up the stairs.

The matter of wardrobe posed some potention risks. Let's see… If she dressed to casually, she might risk embarassing herself or making it appear that she didn't care much. Better to be overdressed than underdressed.

Of course, then there was the problem of shoes. There could be a lot of walking, or slippery marble stairs. But some places didn't even allow tennis shoes—even the glittery platform kind.

After trying on the contents of half of her wardrobe, Kay finally settled on her favorite black dress. It was the only thing that seemed appropriate, no matter the occasion. And it never let her down. She slipped on her black suede sling backs and added pearl-drop earings to complete the emsemble.

" All set," she said, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were wide and glittering with anticipation.

Minutes later she was driving down Central, singing along with the radio to calm her nerves. By the time she turned onto Isabelle Avenue, she was doubling with excitement. Finally, at 2007, she pulled into the parking lot of… Fantasy Island Fun House?

" A kiddie arcade?" Kay asked aloud.

Okay, so she was half an hour late. Thirty-five minutes to be exact. No reason to freak out, right?

Josh glanced at the building. Majestic Theather. Romeo and Julliet, Kay would have loved it.

He walked over to a pay phone and called The Bennett House.

" Hello, Mrs. Bennett? It's Josh. I've been waiting for half an hour, and I still haven't seen any sign of Kay yet. Have you heard from her?"

" Josh! Where are you? I just talked to Kay. She told me to repeat the address that you gave me. 2007 Isabelle Avenue, just like you told me." Grace exclaimed.

Josh let out a sigh of relief. " I'm at Majestic Theater, 2007 Isabelle Court," he explained.

Grace gasped audibly. " Oh Josh! I'm so sorry! I must have mixed up the streets!"

" It's okay, Mrs. Bennett. I'll go over there and get her right now." Josh reassured her.

As he pulled into the parking lot, he realized that this was Fantasy Island Fun House! What kind of date did Kay think he had planned?

He spotted Kay immeadiately, and ran to meet her.

" Josh! Where have you been?" Kay demanded.

" Your Mom got the adresses mixed up. We were going to go see Romeo and Julliet." Josh explained.

Kay's eyes gleamed. " Can we still go?"

Josh glanced at his watch and shook his head. " They'll be dead by the time we get there."

" Oh, well.", Jessica shrugged. " We kind of knew the ending anyways."

" Yeah." Josh replied.

" Listen, I'm really sorry for the mix-up. You went through all that trouble for nothing." Kay said apologetically.

" It's okay," Josh said. He was dispointed that his carefully planned night had been tanked, but it wasn't Kay's fault. At least they were together now. " I packed a picnic dinner. As long as we're here, why don't we take it inside and play some foozball?"

" Okay," she said with a shrug. " But I have to say, I feel a little overdressed.

Josh smiled. " Who cares? Maybe those video game nerds will finally tear their eyes away from the screen for once."

CALLING ALL ACTORS AND ACTRESSES!!

Auditions for the Fall play will take place next week. Stay tuned for more information soon!!

" Die, T. Rex! Die!" Kay squealed, aiming her plastic laser gun at the all-too-lifelike dinosaur soming right at her and Josh. She pumped her trigger finger wildly.

" This is insane." Josh said, holding his gun with both arms. " My muscles are actually sore from this."

Kay screeched as she took one last shot and the T. Rex finally reared it's head and fell over. Josh grinned and watched her laugh triumphantly. Who knew that a beautiful girl would enjoy playing video games with a bunch of spaced-out kids.

Suddenly a siren went off inside the building, and the inder seventeen population of the arcade groaned in unison. "Fantasy Island will be closing in fifteen minutes!" a voice announced over the loudspeaker.

Josh's mood sank. " Maybe we should call it a night."

Jessica reached out and grabbed his wrist, turning it to check his watch. " I can't belive it's practically ten."

" Time flies, I guess." Josh said. He looked around the kid-infested room, feeling morose.

The night had been fun, but wasn't what he had expected. He had wanted it to be romantic and memorable.

" Listen, Kay. I know things didn't turn out like I expected them to." Josh started.

" It's okay, Josh. I had a ton of fun." Kay insisted.

" Well, I want to make it up to you. Do you want to go out again tomorrow night? There's this new comedy club that I hear is really funny." Josh asked, not daring to look her in the eye.

" Of course. Sounds great." Kay said enthusiastically. They both started walking to her car. When they reached it, Kay turned and smiled at him. Her eyes sparkled, and her mouth parted slightly. That was all the invitation he needed. He leaned toward her, tilting his head at a perfect angle to bring his lips to hers.

Suddenly, just before contact, a high-pitched scream cut through the evening air. Josh jumped back in surprise.

" No! I don't want to! I want to play Sonic! I don't want to go home!"

Kay and Josh watched as the mother patiently wiped his face, disarmed him of a plastic pirate dagger and buckled him into the backseat. Once the van had driven off, Josh turned back toward Kay, and they both laughed awkwardly.

" I sort of know how that little guy feels," Josh said." I don't want to go home either." He stared straight into Kay's warm brown eyes. He wanted to kiss her, but the moment was gone.

Kay grinned. "Playtime is over. But we still have tomorrow."

She got into her car. " I had a great time tonight," she said, revving her engine.

" Me, too." Josh said smiling.

He stood there alone, watching until her car drove out of sight.


	16. Her Mindless Followers

Sitting on the gym's hardwood floor after school on Tuesday, Kay touched her forehead to her knee, feeling a slight tug in her tendon

All's Fair in High School Ch.16

Sitting on the gym's hardwood floor after school on Tuesday, Kay touched her forehead to her knee, feeling a slight tug in her tendon. She continued to stretch while her mind wandered to the school day that had just finished. After a pop-quiz in history, a lunch of paper-thin (and tasting) pizza, and listening to people gossip about Charity for the second day in a row, Kay needed a moment of peace.

She sat up straight and closed her eyes, breathing slowly and deeply. Suddenly, something hard hit the back of her head.

" Ow!" she cried, whirling around.

Mindy and Emily, Charity's sidekick and sidekick jr. stood next to her, their faces painted with hatred and anger. Mindy held a megaphone in her hands, the obvious weapon of attack.

" Oh," Mindy said in her empty voice. " Did I accidentally hit something, Em?"

" Yeah. Something vile. Better go wash it off," Emily said, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

Kay could feel herself instantly fill up with tension. Mindy and Emily weren't worth it. She usually never even bothered to argue with them, she simply ignored them, because this seemed to piss them off the best. But today, something just sanpped inside of Kay, and she scrambled to her feet.

" You did that on purpose," she said. " I don't care what you guys think of me, but it should all be kept neutral during practice."

Emily blinked in obvious surprise before finding her voice. " Well, you've got some nerve showing your ugly face at practice after what you did."

" Yeah. You should be at the church, begging for forgiveness." Mindy added, tossing her hair over one shoulder.

Mindy took another step toward Kay. " Because of you, Charity's in the hospital right now," she spat. " She almost died, and it's all your fault."

" What?" Kay exclaimed. " You're blaming me for… that?" Kay couldn't bring herself to say it. She had thought they were going off on her for " stealing Charity's boyfriend, but now it had gotten much deeper. Much worse. They even thought that it was all HER fault that CHARITY commited suicide?

By now, the rest of the cheerleaders had abandoned their stretching exercises and crowded around Kay, Mindy and Emily.

Theresa stepped in between the three of them. " Enough. I want one peaceful practice. Just chill out. Coach Jenn will be here any minute."

Kay just stood there, numb. She still couldn't believe that Emily and Mindy would accuse her of something so bad, so wrong, so horrible.

" Killer." Emily muttered under her breath.

That did it. Kay turned to Emily, her eyes full of anger.

" Stop!" Kay yelled. " I have had enough of you two! You already make it bad enough, trying to spread some pathetic rumors about me, which may I add that no one buys anyways, and always acting so high0and-mighty. You're the ones totally out of line!"

" Kay," Theresa said gently. " This isn't really the time or pla—"

" No! Let me finish!" Kay stalked away from Theresa over to Mindy and Emily until only inches seperated them. She could see their eyes grow wide, but they stood their ground. " I haven't done anything to you! What is your problem?"

Mindy snorted. " Right. Like you didn't hit on Miguel when he was with Charity."

" I didn't know they were a couple! If you want someone to rag on, then go talk to Miguel. HE's the one who lied. He could have told me he had a girlfriend, but he didn't! Doesn't that tell you something?"

" Miguel loves Charity. The sooner you get that through your thick skull, the better." Charity said, fixing Kay with a cold stare.

" Yeah," Emily jumped in. " You're the one who tried to mess up their lives. All we're trying to do is protect our friend."

" Oh really?" Kay asked. " Well, maybe if you guys acted more like her friends and less like mindless followers, you would have realized that she was miserable enough to kill herself. Maybe you could have been there to stop her."

Mindy sucked in her breath as the color drained out of her cheeks. Emily's eyes narrowed, and she lifted her chin definantly, but Kay could tell that she had hit a definant nerve. She felt a twinge of guilt from these outragous accusations, but she couldn't stop herself. She was on a roll, and nothing could stop her.

" How can you accuse me of being this horrible person when you don't even know me? I've never done anything to you, but you just assume that I'm this evil bitch! If you want to fool yourself, go ahead. But from now on, stay away from me!" Kay finished.

By now, Mindy and Emily were only two tiny, glaring little lumps. Kay felt strangely weak. Her hands trembled and her knees felt weak. She usually didn't let those two losers get to her, but somehow they'd gotten under her skin today. But it had felt great to give them a piece of her mind.

But now Kay was starting to think about their accusations. Could they be right? Was she responsible for Charity trying to commit suicide? Did Charity blame her? Worse, did Miguel blame her?

Kay Bennett and Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald

Audition Practice. Cafeteria. Take one.

Theresa: What are you trying to tell me?

Kay: I'm trying to tell you that your son is dead. I'm sorry, madam.

Theresa: (huge gasp) There must be some kind of mistake!

Kay: Hey. Wait a minute. Time-out. Theresa, what was that?

Theresa: (miffed) What was what?

Kay: SOME kind of mistake. That's totally emphasizing the wrong word.

Theresa: And it's TOTALLY my audition.

Alex: And you're both TOTALLY annoying.

Kay: (rolls her eyes at Alex) Let's try again. (clears throat) I'm trying to tell you that your son is dead. I'm sorry, Madam.

Theresa: There must be some kind of MISTAKE!

Kay laughs.

Theresa: What now?

Kay: Passions ask for an audition tape?

Theresa: Fine, Ms. Julia Roberts. How would you do it?

Kay: (stricken) There must be some kind of mistake.

Theresa: Blah, blah, bland. Here. How about this? There MUST be some kind of MISTAKE.

Kay: Nope.

Theresa: There MUST be—

Kay: Nope.

Theresa: THERE must—

Kay: Nope.

Theresa: THERE MUST be—

Alex: There must be some way to make you shut up.

Kay: There must be—

Theresa: There must BE—

(Bell Rings)

Alex: There is a God!

Deliver to Room 162, Harmony High School

Miguel,

Great news! Charity's better! Come after football practice- bring ice cream!

-Mrs. Standish

" Jess, I swear, my hair is rebelling. It looks like something that Tabitha's doll cranked out of a play-doh factory." Kay moaned.

" Don't be ridiculous, Kay. Doll's don't play with play-doh." Jessica said matter-0f-factly.

" Oh my god! My hair really is that bad, isn't it?" Kay asked, her eyes widening in fear.

Jessica laughed. It was way too easy to get to Kay. " I'm only joking, Kay. It looks fine. But, here, let me help."

Jessica picked up a brush and began running it through Kay's hair, eager for something else to focus on. The mechanical motions took her back several years to when she and Kay used to play with eachother's hair, practicing "grown-up" styles.

" Jess?" Kay's voice sounded far away, and Jessica wondered if she might be thinking the same thing. " Can I ask you something?"

" What is it, Kay?" Jessica stared at her sister's downcast image in the dresser mirror.

Kay closed her eyes. " Do you think it's possible that I'm responsible for what happened to Charity?"

" You're messing with me, right?" Jessica set the brush down and turned Kay toward her. " Is this a trick question?"

Kay shrugged weakly and stared down at her hands. The guilt was really starting to get to her. She hadn't given it a second thought before, but somehow Mindy and Emily had really set something off inside her. Their anger, their hate, had been so…REAL. It was obvious that they weren't lying this time. It was obvious that they really believed Kay to be responsible.

" Kay! There's no way you could be responsible for what happened! How could you even think that?"

" I don't know." Kay gestured helplessly. Kay hated being helpless. Helpless meant weak, and there was one goddamn thing Kay bennett wasn't, it was weak. But she couldn't fight this. This wasn't a situation where she could just kick someone's ass, and be done with it. These thoughts kept intruding her mind, and she was helpless against them. She didn't have a shield to protect herself. And the hits kept coming and coming.

Jessica grabbed Kay by her shoulders. " Listen to me. You've been the victim throughout this entire ordeal. Whatever Charity's problems are, they're much deeper than all this. There's a lot we don't know about her."

" Yeah, I guess so." Kay mumbled, still staring at the carpet.

" Hey. Why are you wasting time thinking about this, anyways? Shouldn't you be trying to revive your play-doh hair?" Jessica asked, playfully whacking Kay on the head with the hairbrush.

"You said it wasn't that bad!" Kay protested.

Jessica laughed. Throughout the years, she had learned that she couldn't change Kay's mind about something. But if she could redirect her thoughts to something else (like guys or chocolate or guys or cheerleading or guys), she was usually able to seep away her worries. At least, temporarily.

" So, what are you going to wear? That might help us fix your hair dilemas." Jess asked.

" Actually, I'm not sure what to wear. Josh is taking me out to that new comedy club, but I don't know what the seating is like." Kay said, taking a beading necklace and holding it under her chin.

" Seating? Is that important?" Jessica asked.

" Yeah. If we're sitting at tables, I need play up my upper torso, like a scooped neckline and a delicate string of beads. If we're on stools. I can emphasize me legs more—maybe wear shimmery hose and strappy shoes. Then there's the whole lighting thing."

" Lighting thing?" Jessica asked, trying desperately not to laugh.

" Of course," Kay said, obviously exasperated. " With lamplight or candles you have to wear glittery makeup and go a little heavier on the colors. But don't ever do that with ultrabright flourescent lights or it's like 'Hello, my name's Elvira. What yours?'"

Jessica shrugged helplessly. Leave it to Kay to raise dressing for a date up to a high art.

She watched in awe as her sister painstakingly tried on most of what she owned before settling on a wine colored sheath dress and a lacy coverlet. Kay then studied herself walking in four different pairs of shoes before deciding on the gold platforms.

" All set." Kay said, turning to Jessica to give her the full effect. "Only I still don't know what to do with my hair."  


" Here, I've got an idea." Jessica said, tugging Kay towards her. She twisted Kay's hair back, pinning it in place. Then she put her hair in a ponytail. After spiral curling her hair, she just smushed her hair into a messy bun. 

" There. Like it?" Jessica asked, giving Kay a mirror and holding one herslef so that Kay could see the back of her head.

" Actually, I do. Thanks, Jess." Kay said., checking her eye makeup in the mirror.

" No prob, sis." Jess said smiling. It was good to see Kay back in full force.

Twenty minutes later…

Kay smiled as she glanced over at Josh. He looked unbelievably handsome, and she asked herself how she got so lucky.

He pulled into a parking lot.

Kay glanced at the sign: Scooper Duper's Ice Cream Shoppe.

She glanced over at him quizzically.

" We're early." He explained, smiling. Kay loved the way his eyes crinkled at the sides as he smiled at her. The smile that could practically melt her heart. The smile like Miguel's…

She jerked her head slightly. Where had that thought come from?

" Uh, Kay? Coming?" Josh teased, as he was holding her door open for her.

" Yeah! Of course!" Kay said cheerfully. As she walked into the store, she scolded herself for letting Miguel get to her. Here she was, on a date with a wonderful guy and she was letting that jerk spoil her evening.

As she opened the door, she quickly checked her reflection in the glass door. One of the spiral curls had somehow fallen out and now was hanging from the left side of her head like a lifeless snake. Great. How was she supposed to feel charming with limp hair?

" Hey, Josh?" she playfully twirled the strand of hair around her finger. " I'm gonna go to the rest room. Will you order for me?"

" Sure. What's your poison?"

" I'll have a double scoop of chocolate cookie dough with little sprinkles of… Miguel!"

Kay's heart stopped. It couldn't be happeneing. But it was. Standing right in front of her at the cash register was the unmistakeable back view f Miguel Lopez-Firtzgerald. She recognized the boyish slouch, and the broad shoulers… everything.

'No! Why? Just when I decided to let loose and have some fun.' She thought miserably.

She briefly considered diving under one of the pink plastic tablecloths, but it was too late. Miguel turned around, brown paper sack in hand, and came chest-to-face with Kay. A startle expression crossed his features, and he stopped dead in his tracks.

" Kay!" he exclaimed.

" Miguel. Uh… hi," she stammered. " What are you doing here?"

" Getting some ice cream." He held up the brown paper sack.

Duh. What did she think her was doing? Getting a pedicure?

" It's for Charity." He added.

" Oh." Kay felt a pang in her heart. "That's nice. How is she doing?"

" She's fine." Miguel said, a bit too quickly.

Miguel kept glancing from her to a spot off her right, and Kay became extremely aware that Josh was standing next to her.

" Oh! How rude of me. Miguel, this is Josh. Josh, this is—"

" We've met." Josh cut her off.

Oh god. They know eachother? Just how well do they know eachother?

" Hey, Josh. Well, I gotta go. Bye." Miguel said, walking past them.

A shiver ran through Kay. Miguel must blame her for what happened to Charity. Why else would he seem so blunt and cold?


	17. Totally Classic

Okay people! Here's Chapter 17!! Sorry to announce, but this fic will be discontinued for a month or so. I'm going away to French camp, and they don't allow anything to be brought in that isn't written in French. So... you can live for a month w/o All's Fair, right? LoL!!  
  
Hey! I know, Chadney and ET aren't in this fic as much as I hoped... I'm losing my touch! LoL! But I tried to stick some Chadney in here... I might just give up on ET, they've gone from a forbidden love to pathetic Romeo and Juliet wannabees. I've actually become a Gwen fan now, scary as it sounds. Anyways, I'm going to try to write more Chadney!!  
  
Also, as a reminder: I am not taking credit for this fic. It's mostly Francine Pascal's dialog, and JER's Passions characters. I am just putting them together for other's enjoyment.  
  
All's Fair in High School  
  
Chapter 17  
  
"This is a really nice place," Theresa said as Whitney led her out to the deck at the Lighthouse Café. "I'm glad we went here instead of the Book Café. If I have to have another double expresso, I'm gonna die."  
"I know," Whitney replied. " Plus, I just really needed to get out of the house."  
" So, living with Chad isn't a dream existence, is it?" Theresa asked, dropping into the chair across from Whitney's.  
Whit felt her face grow warm. Theresa had known Chad and his family for a really long time, and she didn't want to offend her friend. " No, it's fine."  
" Are you kidding? I can't imagine what it would be like living under the same roof with Chad." Theresa said, rolling her eyes. " The boy is impossible."  
Whit laughed, relieved. " No kidding. I feel like I have to watch every move I make around him, even though it's my house!"  
" All right. If you're here to get away from Sir moody, let's not talk about him." Theresa said, picking up a menu.  
Whitney clasped her hands together as an idea dawned on her. She had been dying to get advice about Chad. And since Theresa knew him better than anyone else...  
But no. She couldn't really tell Theresa how she felt about Chad. Asking a friend about her best friend wasn't exactly classy. But if she played her cards right...  
" Hey, Resa? Can I ask you something?" Whiteny hedged, sounding hesitant.  
" Sure, Whit. Anything," Theresa said.  
" It's about this guy." Whitney went on.  
" Who?" Theresa asked immeadiately.  
" You don't know him." Whitney replied quickly. " For now, let's just call him "Guy"."  
" Okay, so what's up with Guy?"  
" The problem is, I have a big crush on him, but he acts like he couldn't care less about me." Whitney explained.  
" Forget about him. You need someone who'll treat you like a goddess." Theresa said confidently.  
" Oh, trust me, I've tried. It's just like, no matter what, I can't get him out of my head." Whitney sighed.  
" Okay. So, pretty much what you're saying is, he's totally wrong for you, the complete opposite of what you are, right?" Theresa asked, arching a thick eyebrow.  
" Sounds stupid, doesn't it?" Whiteny asked, looking down at her hands.  
" No! Not at all! It's totally classic. The lure of the unavailible." Theresa said, leaning back in her chair.  
" You really think so?" Whitney asked hopefully. This would make her life much simpler. Get Chad out of her head, and start concentrating on school and most importantly, tennis.  
" Of course. And I know just the cure, too."  
" What?" Whitney practically leaped out of her chair.  
" Kiss him." Theresa's dark eyes shined mischeviously.  
Whitney's heart dropped along with her jaw. The waiter appearered amd placed their dishes in front of them. Theresa smirked as she smoothed her napkin on her lap.  
" Are you for real?" Whitney finally asked. Just the thought of kissing Chad put her pulse into overdrive. How could doing it help? She's probably suffer from a stroke if they're lips ever met.  
" It's like this," Theresa explained as she munched on some lettuce. "What you're feeling now isn't love, right? More like an obsession."   
" Yeah..." Whitney said hesitantly.  
" You can either grab the bull by the horns and do it or wait around feeling all heartsick for months until you finally hook up with him at some Christmas Party under some mistletoe and realize that he's not all that. Do you really want to spend half your senior year wondering?" Theresa asked.  
" I guess that does make sense," Whitney mused.  
" Trust me," Theresa said. " Kissing may be fun, but only one kiss in a hundred tells you that you've found true love. Chances are, you're going to see that he's just a regular guy and your crush will dissolve faster that one of those alka-seltzer tablets."  
  
Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald  
  
Whitney is so obviously in love with Chad.  
  
And Chad so obviously needs a girlfriend just like Whitney.  
  
But I guess that still doesn't make what I did right.  
  
But the way I see it, one of two things will happen:  
  
1) Chad will blow Whitney off, and she'll move on with her life.  
  
Or  
  
2) Chad will wake up to the bad coffee and finally realize that Whitney is the perfect girl for him and they'll get together.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
When Miguel got to the hospital, Charity was sitting in her bed, watching a rerun of Friends. She was alone.  
Miguel's stomach tighened. For two days he had been able to aovid having to talk with her alone. She was always either sleeping or... sleeping.  
He had been hoping that the family would be here with her, but no such luck.  
" Miguel!" She looked at him and smiled weakly. " Come on in." She hit the remote control to turn off the TV and sat back expectantly.  
" Hey Char." He managed a grin as he strode up to her and quickly kissed her cheek. Then he busied himself with clearing off the nearby rolling table so she couldn't study his expression too closely.  
" Mint chocolate chip! I love this stuff!" Charity said as he pulled the ice cream from the bag. " I love that I have a boyfriend that knows everything about me."  
Miguel looked up. He wanted to remind her that he wasn't her boyfriend anymore, but there was no telling how she would react. Besides, she was right about one thing: He did know everything about Charity-too much, in fact.  
Obviously she thought they were getting back together. There was no way he was going to let that happen. Problem was, he couldn't tell her. Not now, when she was lying in the hospital, recovering from a suicide attempt because he broke up with her.  
It would have to wait until later. He'd already hurt her- he couldn't stand to do it again.  
  
  
  



End file.
